Burning Brightly
by Aria6
Summary: A Final Fantasy AU fic! Axel has a hard life due to a tragic past and Roxas is an alienated boy who also has many problems. More details about Axel's past emerge... will they grow closer, or will they hate each other? Non-con, lemons and adventure!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This isn't the real world. It's the Final Fantasy AU world mostly. It won't be holding to the real history at all but most of the characters are featured. Enjoy!

"Ow." Came the muffled voice from within the small lean-to. There was a rustling sound as blankets were pushed aside and clothes were put on. Finally a young man with red hair climbed out, plastic bag in hand. "Laundry day is the pits." Scratching himself a few times he glanced up at the sun. It was just barely rising. "Hmm." Slinging the bag over his shoulder he glanced around warily.

He was living in a deserted lot in a fairly decent neighborhood. It was very working class and his family owned a house only a short distance away. He never intended to stay there again but as long as his brother wasn't home, which he wouldn't be at this hour, he could sneak in and get his clothing done and take a shower. Maybe even steal a bit of food although that was dangerous. The last thing he wanted was for his brother to change the locks. He usually just got a muffin at the coffee shop as he waited for the school bus to arrive. Seeing no dangers he got started walking, ignoring the cars puttering by. There weren't very many. Most people took public transit, rode bikes or went on foot.

Axel walked up the path to an old, threadbare house and saw with relief that his brother's car was missing. He was good to go and opened the door with his key, going inside. The old wood creaked under his feet and Axel reflected that the house got worse every year. Was his brother spending anything on upkeep? Was there anything to spend? Probably. The one think their father was generous with was money.

Shoving all his clothes into the washing machine, Axel went to the bathroom for a good hot bath. The clothes would take a while which was why he'd gotten up so early. He settled in to soak with a sigh, just enjoying the feeling of hot water against his skin. Soon he was scrubbing himself thoroughly. By the time he was done the bath the clothes were ready for the drier and he tossed them in, setting it to as quick a time as possible. His clothes were pretty sturdy and could survive the mistreatment. As soon as they were done he packed them into his bag and carried them back to his shelter. Finally, with all that done, he grabbed his school bag and went to catch the bus.

Axel reflected wryly that most of his fellow students would likely faint if they knew how he lived. He was enrolled in a rather good school, thanks to his father. Not that it made much difference to Axel except that the bus trip was longer. He was a straight C student, although he could have produced A's and B's if he'd had any motivation. Well, and if there had been a good way to do his homework. Life was hard when the days were short and he was trying to study with the help of a flashlight. It just didn't seem worth the effort. The local Burger Barn had kicked him out when he tried to study there.

"Oh well." Axel muttered as he caught the bus. "It's something to do." He didn't mind school. He rather enjoyed the company of the other students. He was friends with almost everyone and people really liked and appreciated him there. It was odd, but school was almost a refuge from the rest of his life.

"Hey Axel!" Axel grinned as he headed to the back of the bus and slumped into place in his usual spot. Demyx grinned at him, plucking a few chords on his Sitar. Axel had no idea where he'd gotten the thing. It wasn't a normal instrument here. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good." He said amiably. "I got a new jacket, see?" He'd actually found it at the local thrift store, cleaned it up and then done the painting on the back himself. The fabric paints seemed to be wearing well and the picture of dancing flames was a bit stylized but very pretty. He turned so Demyx could see the work.

"Nice! You did that?" Demyx admired it. "You should paint one for me sometime." Axel laughed at that.

"Sure!" He knew his artwork was good although he didn't think it would ever go anywhere. Just like his life would never go anywhere. But that was the breaks sometimes and Axel wasn't about to dwell on it. "Just get me a jacket and I'll do it for you." He loved painting and had a ton of materials in his little hideaway. Demyx beamed.

"You're awesome. Oh, have you heard about the new kid who's coming to our school?" Axel shook his head. He hadn't heard anything about a new kid, although maybe he'd just forgotten. His memory wasn't the best.

"No, what kid is that?" It had to be something interesting for Demyx to notice. He was almost as scattered as Axel. The sandy-blonde haired boy smiled for a moment as he strummed his sitar.

"Roxas Shinra! He's related to Rufus somehow. Cousin I think. Anyway, he's really rich. No one is sure why he's coming here." Axel blinked and wondered. Was that a coincidence or had Reno asked Dolang to get him to be friendly to the kid? Probably, but if so the message had died right there. He and his middle brother didn't talk and Reno didn't know that.

"Huh, that's weird. My oldest brother works for Rufus." Axel wondered if the kid would recognize him. It wasn't hard to see his resemblance to Reno. Demyx looked impressed.

"Wow, neat!" The Shinra family were pretty much the rulers of the planet, although no one would put it that way. It was a company, after all. But Rufus was still calling the shots. "I wonder if he'll know you?"

"Eh, probably not. I'm no one important." That was nothing but the truth. Axel felt a moment of bitterness before shrugging it off. There was nothing he could do about that. When he was eighteen he'd be old enough to sign contracts in his own name and he'd ditch school for good. He'd already been held back twice, there was no point in finishing. Axel thought perhaps he'd go see if the construction companies were hiring. He'd already done it in the summer, although he was technically too young to hold down a job without parental permission. A shady contractor had no objections to hiring him under the table. Axel suspected a few of the things he'd done had been truly unsafe but he'd survived. That was all that mattered.

They were all settled in class when the new kid finally showed up. He came in escorted by a man Axel recognized instantly. Tseng. The kid himself had beautiful blond hair like Rufus, but spiky where his was flat. He looked cute as a button, with angelic features and baby blue eyes but his expression was sullen. Axel blinked as he noticed a cuff around his ankle. A motion monitor? What had this kid done? He was sure most of the other students here wouldn't recognize it though. Axel traveled in less savory circles sometimes. Well, a lot of the time. Tseng said something to the boy in a soft voice that didn't fool Axel for a moment. The kid would be a moron to disobey. Apparently he thought so too because the blonde boy just nodded sullenly and took a seat at the back of the class, right beside Axel. Axel glanced at him curiously but the kid didn't look at him.

"Class, we have a new student today." The teacher said brightly, smiling. "This is Roxas Shinra. Roxas, please stand and tell us something about yourself." Roxas glowered and stood.

"Hello. I'm here because I did drugs and stole money from my parents." There was a shocked silence then whispers and Axel couldn't help a surprised laugh. Roxas shot him a poisonous look as he sat down and Axel gave him an apologetic smile. The teacher looked a bit stunned but managed to recover.

"Uh, I see. Well, I'm sure you'll do well here. Now class, let's begin with page 58…" Axel let the lesson wash over him as he glanced at the blonde out of the corner of his eye. He was really incredibly cute and pretty interesting besides. The fact that he might know his brother was the only thing that put off Axel.

Maybe he would have to try to get to know Roxas better. He was interesting at least.

* * *

Roxas already hated the school.

It was preppy and fake. All the students were from 'good' families, although not as rich as the ones at the last school he'd gone to. Not as decadent in their tastes either. No, this was an upper-middle class school for the _good_ children. It made him want to grit his teeth. He was sure they would all be trying to be friends with him for his connection to Rufus.

The only one who seemed a bit out of place was that annoying redhead beside him. The boy was whistling to himself softly and it made Roxas want to stab him with his pencil. But then, a lot of noises were bothering him right now. Going through rehab was turning out to be a bitch. But the redhead didn't seem to fit in with the other kids. They were all diligently taking notes and he was just doodling something… and wasn't he too old for this class? Roxas was fourteen but this kid looked sixteen at the least, maybe older. He looked a bit like Reno but Roxas quickly dismissed the resemblance. He'd heard about Reno's brother. Apparently he was some kind of super-kid with great marks, not a slacking kid in the back of the class.

Roxas realized he was paying far too much attention to some nameless boy and bent his head down over his work, working at it. If he got his grades back up maybe he could get out of this place, back to the school with all his friends. Although maybe not. But at least it was something to do.

He was oblivious to an interested glance from warm green eyes.

* * *

Several weeks later.

Axel was having a very hard time getting Roxas to warm up to him. It was very surprising really. Usually newcomers to the school succumbed to his charm and easy manner immediately. Axel sometimes thought of himself as the welcoming committee. With his personality and striking looks, Axel was a popular figure despite his grades. But Roxas was standoffish and cold, refusing invitations to lunch and after school games. It was puzzling.

Then a perfect opportunity arose. The class had to do a project on various athletic games and he and Roxas were paired together to do the Wutai national games. Axel knew nothing about it at all but faced the prospect of research with good cheer. It would be fun, especially with a cute blonde beside him. They were all given time to go to the library and Axel sat down beside Roxas at a table.

"So are we ready to rumble?" Axel said happily as he pulled out his books. Roxas grunted and looked down at the books he was researching from. "What do you want me to start with?"

"You can work on the illustrations." Axel's smile wilted a bit around the edges. That was the easiest part of the assignment. Did Roxas think he wasn't capable of more? But then his smile came back in full force as he considered exactly how to do it. He loved art and was really good at it, Roxas was probably just giving him what he was good at!

"Sure!" Axel grabbed a piece of paper and began drawing. It was a tentative sketch and Axel's eyes half closed as he tried to capture the movement of running. "Hmmm." Glancing up at Roxas' lowered head he grinned and impishly gave one of the runners short, spiky hair. The other he gave a wild mane similar to his own. "Sooo Roxas! You just arrived in town right? Know any of the sights?"

"My cousin's people have been showing me around." Roxas voice held no warmth but Axel was far too caught up in his own happiness to care. He leaned close to the blonde with a grin and Roxas looked up with a frown. Axel examined bright blue eyes and smiled, his own green eyes warm.

"Nice! But would you like to go out for coffee after this? Or to a movie, or the arcade?" Roxas' lip curled in disgust and Axel tilted his head to one side. "What, you don't like coffee?"

"I don't like _you_." Roxas said sharply and Axel flinched away like he'd been slapped, astonishment on his face. No one had said something like that to him since… He stomped the memory flat, locked it in a box and tried to bury it in a tar pit. "Can we get on with it?"

"What do you mean?" Axel couldn't keep the bewilderment out of his voice. "I'm just trying to be friendly. What's your problem?" He didn't understand why Roxas wouldn't like him. They hardly knew each other. Well, sure, some people thought his loud voice was annoying but still…

"I don't like social climbers or idiots, and you're both. You're also annoying. Now, can we get on with this? I'd rather not spend anymore time with you than I have to." Axel stared at the blonde boy for a long moment, stunned into silence. Then he stood and shoved his books back into his bag. Roxas looked up with a frown. "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving." Axel's voice was rough and Roxas blinked as he saw the anger in the redhead's face. "Do it yourself." That astonished him.

"What! I'll tell the teacher. You'll get a zero." Axel laughed derisively as he slung his bag over his shoulder and began to walk out. "It's the middle of school!" Axel couldn't just leave. Could he? Axel paused a moment and looked over his shoulder with a vicious smile.

"I don't give a fuck. And here's another thing. I don't give a fuck about my grade and I hate Shinra. So fuck off Roxas." Axel stalked out, not listening as someone called after him.

What did he care?


	2. The Truth Hurts

Axel stopped speaking to Roxas at all after that. He got a zero on his report and detention for skipping school, but he didn't care. Although the detention was slightly inconvenient. Axel really needed that time to do more important things.

Axel took a bit of malicious pleasure in the way the obvious bad blood between the two of them split the other students. Most of the school liked him and in a self-fulfilling prophesy, the ones who were trying to make nice to Roxas now were mostly the status climbers. The others just ignored the blonde, preferring to be around Axel.

He didn't anticipate meeting Roxas in a most unusual place. But sometimes, that was how life went.

"Damn it." Axel muttered as he looked at the balance of his card. His father put fifty munny a month in his bank account as an allowance. If he'd been a normal boy, that would have been pretty generous. But for food money for an entire month for a growing teenage boy, it was pretty bad. Axel tried to supplement it where he could with odd jobs and collecting cans but he hadn't had much luck lately. Sighing in disgust he pocketed the card and started to take a long walk.

Midgar didn't have a lot that could be called charity and it was all in the really bad part of town. Axel didn't much like making that trip but it would get him at least one good meal and maybe a real bed to sleep on and breakfast as well. He'd have to wake up very early to get back to his shelter, change and get to school, but that was nothing unusual.

"Hello Axel. It's been a while." A young girl said as he walked into the dirty, rather old building. She had long, straight black hair and one of her eyes wandered all over the place while the other focused properly. Axel knew she was blind in that eye and sick with some odd disease. "I'd hoped you'd gone on to better things." She said with a smile and Axel laughed.

"Yeah right Melly." Axel glanced around and saw it was the same old crowd. He knew most of them and waved and called a few greetings. The only reason he didn't like coming was the trip. The people here were fine. Melly followed him as he headed over towards the lineup.

"There's some kind of rich kid here." She murmured in his ear. "Doing community service. He must have done something _very_ bad. Probably something peons like us would get executed for." The bitterness in her tone was obvious but Axel only laughed.

"Ah, but Melly, think of the humiliation! For a lot of people that's worse than death." She laughed a little too, cheered by Axel's good humor.

"I suppose so. That's him over there." She pointed surreptitiously and Axel turned his head… and stopped dead for just a moment. It wasn't hard to recognize that blonde head.

"Fuck." He muttered and considered just leaving immediately. But he was hungry and what if Roxas was coming here all the time? He needed this place. Glancing around quickly he saw with relief that someone was monitoring Roxas but it wasn't anyone he knew. Some nameless minion who probably wouldn't recognize him and report his whereabouts to Reno. Axel wasn't sure how Dolang would explain what he was doing here if word got to Reno, but he was sure he knew who his elder brother would take out his frustration on. Squaring his shoulders and ignoring Melly's curious glance he kept walking. Maybe Roxas wouldn't notice him.

"Axel?" Of course he couldn't be that lucky. Axel glanced up and met shocked blue eyes. "What are you doing here?" Roxas sounded innocent and surprised. Axel couldn't help but grin at the tone.

"Getting something to eat. You going to feed me or not?" Axel waggled his eyebrows deliberately and Roxas blinked before scowling.

"This is supposed to be for people who need it." Roxas snapped at him. "Not spoiled rich kids slumming." Melly looked a little shocked at that and glanced at Axel as he shrugged. It was a reasonable assumption for Roxas to make. Really, how could the blonde imagine the truth?

"I'm here because I'm out of food money for the month Roxas. Going to a preppy school doesn't mean I have enough to eat." From the look on Roxas' face he couldn't figure out how that statement could be true. "Look, it's complicated. Just don't talk about it alright? You'll get me into trouble." Axel didn't have high hopes from the look on Roxas' face, but as long as he didn't mention it to exactly the wrong people he should be fine. Of course, the main wrong person was someone Roxas probably knew.

But there was nothing he could do about it. Axel took his food, ate and managed to get a spot to sleep for the night. Roxas didn't approach him again, and he was grateful for that. But then, his keeper wasn't going to let him near anyone who might know how to get drugs.

Hopefully things would work out.

* * *

"What is with him?" Roxas mumbled to himself as he was driven home. There was a huge mystery in his life and it was named Axel.

He'd realized he'd been wrong about the redhead. He certainly wasn't trying to suck up. Quite the reverse now. Roxas would have been glad but now it seemed like most of the school wanted nothing to do with him. Not that he wanted to be friends with such fake, superficial people but still. It wasn't pleasant.

At first he'd thought that fake and superficial were the perfect words to describe Axel. But it seemed more and more that he was wrong. The redhead had something going on in his life, something interesting and maybe appalling. Why would someone going to a preppy school be eating at a soup kitchen? Roxas was sure Axel wasn't doing drugs. He knew the signs. The redhead was just a cheerful slacker, never handing in his homework and managing to get by on native intelligence. So why was he eating in the worst part of town with the truly down and outs?

Roxas was still thinking about it when he got out of the car and something loud and obnoxious interrupted his chain of thought.

"Hey there Roxas!" Reno. Roxas grimaced and looked at the redhead then blinked. He'd seen Axel just today and the resemblance was uncanny. Could Axel really be Reno's brother? But that didn't make any sense at all! "So how has your new school been coming?" Roxas tried to think of an answer and took refuge in general sullenness.

"It's fine." With Rude, Tseng or even Elena, that would have been enough. They didn't really pretend to care and Rude probably wouldn't have even asked the question. Reno was completely different though and highly annoying. It occurred to Roxas that he was a lot like Axel in fact.

"That's great! So you met my brother yet? Axel? He showing you around?" Reno slapped him on the back and Roxas had to suppress the urge to jerk away. He hated being touched like that. Then he frowned.

"I know an Axel." Roxas said slowly, looking at Reno. The resemblance to the Turk really was remarkable but… it couldn't be. Reno wasn't a liar, whatever else he was, and nothing matched up. "But he's in my grade and… I saw him at the soup kitchen. That couldn't be your brother, could it?" Reno looked slightly puzzled and reached up to scratch his hair.

"No, he should be two grades over you. Weird. Maybe there's more than one Axel at the school. I'll have to ask Dolang about it." Roxas hesitated as he remembered what Axel had said about not talking about it. But Axel just couldn't be Reno's brother so what could it hurt? "Well, I'm glad to hear you're doing well." Reno slapped him on the back one last time and walked off, flipping over his cell and place a call. "Dolang?" Roxas heard before he got out of earshot but didn't hear anything else. He sighed and went into the house, taking a seat on the couch and turning on the TV.

He was under house arrest, basically. There was good reason for that but Roxas resented the Hell out of it anyway. The Turks and other important people were involved due to his relationship with Rufus and the fact that Rufus partly blamed himself for letting the situation deteriorate this far. Roxas hated it and wished they would all leave him alone. Sure, he'd stolen his mother's cards but it wasn't like she was using them…

That thought made him wince and rub his head. He'd been out of his mind and fortunately he couldn't remember most of it. Just from the brief description Tseng had given him, Roxas was glad of that. He didn't want to remember being that person.

Roxas vaguely wondered if Reno might let him hang out with his real brother, if he could find him. He'd probably be a complete goody-goody but anything would be better than just hanging around the house all day and enduring the withdrawal pains. And he desperately wanted to get away from his watchers. Sure, the unknown Axel would be a watcher too but at least he'd only be a few years older. Maybe Roxas could convince him to do something interesting.

Roxas sighed and shut off the TV, digging out his homework. The sooner he could convince everyone to leave him alone, the better. All he really wanted now was to be left alone…

* * *

Axel walked into the house with no suspicions of trouble. Dolang's car was missing. His brother would already be at work, although Axel was very hazy about what that work was exactly. His brother was enhanced with mako but not a SOLDIER was all he knew. Axel walked casually up the stairs intending to take a shower before school. The last thing he expected was for a door to slam open in his face. A hard hand encircled his throat in a vice like grip as he was slammed against the wall.

"You've been a little careless, Axel." A smooth, pleasant voice said as he choked and gagged, trying desperately to breathe and pry the hand away. He was having no luck. Unlike his brothers, Axel wasn't enhanced in any way. "Tell me, why am I getting a call from Reno asking why you're not in your proper grade and visiting a soup kitchen?" For a moment Axel mentally called down every curse he had on Roxas' head. He'd told the kid not to talk about it.

"It's… not my fault." He managed to gasp out. "Rufus. His nephew. He's going to the school… in my class…" The grip on his throat was convincing him that breathing was a sin, unnatural. Axel thought he might pass out when the hand abruptly forgave him, releasing him and letting him collapse to the floor. Axel gasped for breath and closed his eyes as he heard his brother circling him.

"That's unfortunate. For you." The kick in his side didn't come as a surprise and Axel gritted his teeth as he felt something break. Dolang wasn't very careful with him because he didn't need to be. Broken ribs and bruises healed very quickly and without marks. Axel wasn't sure why, although he was sure that the speed of his healing wasn't completely natural. The only thing his brother avoided marking was his face. He'd learned that lesson when Axel was younger and a teacher had gotten a touch concerned about his bruises.

He'd learned a long time ago that fighting only made things worse so Axel concentrated on just riding out the pain of the beating and tuning out the things his brother was saying. Once he got started it was always the same and if he listened, the words would prick at his heart because he knew they were true. It was his fault this was happening but he didn't want to think about it. Didn't want to feel the pain anymore.

By the time his brother was done Axel was semi-conscious. He quickly revived as Dolang gripped his jacket, lifting him up and jarring the already broken ribs. Axel bit back a groan and met cold, angry blue eyes.

"I covered for you with Reno, but be a little more careful Axel. Or I might have to change the locks." Axel sometimes wished he would but that would create a nightmare for him. There was no place he had to shower except the house and he had to be clean for school. He couldn't afford to be locked out, not for another two years.

"Yes Dolang." He whispered and pulled away, going into the bathroom to shower and wincing as he touched already vivid bruises. There was a slam of a door and Axel knew his brother was gone. As he cleaned himself he made a short, grim vow.

Roxas was going to pay for this.

* * *

"Axel, what happened to you?" Demyx asked, astonished. Roxas glanced over, annoyed, then stared. They were all changing for gym and Axel was doing it at record speed, but the gym shorts couldn't hide the brutal bruises on his legs and arms. Axel looked up, his expression cool and indifferent.

"Had a motorcycle accident." He said briefly. "Don't worry about it Demy." Demyx looked concerned but nodded. It was at the tip of Roxas' tongue to demand how Axel could afford a motorcycle but not food when the redhead noticed him. The look he gave him was so hostile Roxas actually took a step back. Then Axel looked away but Roxas could see the tension in his shoulders.

"Hey, Demyx? Is there another Axel in the school?" Roxas asked casually and saw Axel look up. That was interesting. The blonde boy looked puzzled.

"Another Axel? No, I don't think so. It's not a common name." Demyx glanced at Axel who gave Roxas a brief, flinty look before turning away. "Why?"

"I'm just looking for a friend of a friend. But he'd be in an older class." Roxas watched in almost malicious amusement as Axel's shoulders tensed. Was he Reno's brother? Had Axel been lying to Reno about his accomplishments, and that was why the redhead didn't want him to talk about it? Although that didn't explain the soup kitchen. Roxas suddenly frowned. Or the bruises. Deciding to drop it for now, he went to gym class.

The rest of the day passed in an uncomfortable tension between the two. Roxas wasn't paying attention when he went to leave the school and was caught completely by surprise as a hand grabbed him and dragged him into the boy's washroom. He yelped in pain as he was suddenly slammed against the wall, staring into furious green eyes.

"Are you stupid?" Axel snarled into his face as Roxas blinked. "I told you not to talk about me! Keep your mouth shut, especially to Reno!"

"You're really his brother?" Roxas still had a bit of trouble believing that. How could Axel have kept his actual grade a secret? The redhead nodded sharply though. "Why should I help you hide how crappy your marks are from Reno?" Axel laughed then, although there was no humor in the sound.

"Reno is the least of my worries. If you keep running your mouth, breathing will be my biggest problem." Roxas frowned, not understanding. Axel could see the lack of comprehension in his face and snorted. "They might find my body in the river, dumbass."

"Stop being melodramatic." Roxas snapped back. Reno was not the kind of guy to do something like that to his brother although Roxas was vaguely aware there was another brother too. But Reno spoke about Dolang fondly. Axel's eyes narrowed.

"Let me put it this way. I don't own a motorcycle. And while I don't mind taking beatings for stuff I meant to do, I don't want to take it for stupid shit. So learn to keep your mouth shut. Got it memorized?" Axel didn't wait for a reply before letting him go and stalking about. Roxas watched him go, baffled and furious before making a promise to himself.

He was going to get to the bottom of this, one way or another.


	3. Making Friends

Over the next few weeks, Axel was uncomfortably aware that Roxas was watching him. It wasn't something too obvious and they still didn't talk, but he could tell the blonde was paying attention to him. It made Axel watch him back and he couldn't help but notice how cute the blonde was when he was really concentrating. And how sick he looked sometimes, which was a bit odd. Axel thought it was likely withdrawal although he couldn't really be sure. Despite the time he spent in the slums, his experience with drugs was limited.

But he was still furious at the blonde and saw no reason to change his mind. At least, until Roxas cornered him in the library.

"Axel, can we talk?" Axel looked up from a book with a frown. He really didn't feel like talking to anyone let alone Roxas. But the blonde looked like he was in the middle of swallowing a bitter pill. "I want to apologize."

"Huh?" Axel blinked. That was a real surprise. He would have guess that Roxas didn't know how to say the words. Then his expression turned sardonic. "What do you want?"

"Huh?" Roxas frowned, a touch confused before Axel patiently explained.

"What do you want from me? There has to be a reason for this." Roxas colored at Axel's all too accurate interpretation of his action. For a moment he was tempted to deny it but that wouldn't have been entirely truthful and Roxas took pride in the fact that he wasn't a liar.

"I do need something from you." He said stiffly before taking a chair. "Mind if I sit?" Axel just shrugged. He was actually feeling a little curious now. "I am sorry I was so… out of sorts with you at first. And I didn't mean to get you in trouble; I thought you couldn't be Reno's brother." Roxas ran a hand through his hair as Axel waited patiently for him to get to the point. "I… would you like to hang out after school?"

"Say what?" That was exactly the offer Roxas had spurned at first. Was the kid bi-polar? "Why?" Roxas sighed and explained.

"Part of the reason you bugged me at first was because my… watchers won't let me hang out with much of anyone. But you're Reno's brother and he seems to think you walk on water. He'll let me hang out with you and I really want to get out of the house." He was starting to go quietly stir-crazy. Even hanging out with someone he didn't particularly like would be better than being trapped with adults in an empty house. And Roxas wasn't sure if he liked Axel or not. The other boy was a mystery and interesting as well as loud and a bit annoying. Axel tilted his head to one side, thinking about it.

"What do I get out of this?" He asked and Roxas frowned. "Not to be mercenary or anything, but I'm still not that fond of you." He didn't see any reason why he should spend his after school time with Roxas. The blonde scowled for a moment, thinking.

"I can buy you some food at a restaurant." He said briefly. He had a debit card although everything that went on it was being closely scrutinized. But treating Axel to supper wouldn't raise any eyebrows. Axel looked like he might refuse for a moment then shrugged.

"I guess… okay. For now." He wasn't that desperate for food. If Roxas proved too obnoxious, he could always call it off. "Just don't mention anything you see to Reno or I'll have to kill you, got it?"

"Got it." Roxas smiled and for a moment Axel saw pure relief on his face. What was the kids' life like, that he was looking forward so much to hanging out with him? "I'll have to ask my watchers but maybe tomorrow?"

"Anytime that works for you." Axel said amiably. "It's not like I'm busy." He only did odd jobs on the weekends, usually, and he was having trouble finding them. It was the off season for construction. Although… "Just not Sunday unless you want to help me carry furniture. I'm getting paid to help a lady move." He added as Roxas looked confused. Roxas blinked and nodded.

"Okay." It would be a lot easier for them to meet up after school than on weekends in any case. Roxas wasn't sure where Axel lived. "Just let me ask Reno." Roxas stood to leave and Axel watched him go thoughtfully. Was he actually looking forward to this? But aside from being a bit of an ass, Roxas really was very cute. That was probably it.

Reno proved to be delighted by the suggestion and Roxas had an idea that the Turks were very tired of babysitting him. They'd already been pawning it off on underlings as much as they could, of course, but Rufus wanted something a bit more certain. Apparently they thought Reno's brother would do just fine. Roxas really couldn't understand how Reno seemed to know nothing about Axel at all yet thought he did. It was very strange, but he wasn't going to question it again. He wasn't sure he believed Axel about the river but it was better not to take the chance.

"So! Want to go to the arcade?" Axel grinned and pulled something out of his bad. Roxas tilted his head as he saw it was a plastic bag filled with arcade tokens. "I did some serious cleaning there once when a kid puked all over the place and didn't tell anyone so it got hard and stuff. They paid me in tokens."

"Ewww. Not worth it!" Roxas couldn't imagine cleaning off dried puke for any price, let alone game tokens. "But sure." He couldn't remember ever going to an arcade in his life. It sounded interesting. They took the school bus to Axel's part of town and Roxas looked around curiously. It wasn't the best neighborhood but it wasn't bad. The arcade Axel took him to was dusty, a little dirty and almost empty. "Want something to drink?" There was a vending machine with sodas and snacks. Axel glanced over and nodded.

"Sure, Dr. Pepper please. And some chips too if you don't mind." Roxas didn't and dug out some change, popping it into the machine. Picking up his purchases, he walked over to Axel who was already playing around on a shooting game. It looked like it had a two player function and Roxas passed him the drink and chips, which actually turned out to be pork rinds. Axel grinned as he ate one and Roxas looked at them dubiously. They'd been the only chip available but he'd never tried them before. "These things are good. Mmm, heart attack in a bag." Roxas laughed and tried his. It wasn't bad at all and he thought he could probably get a taste for it.

The evening passed pleasantly before one of Roxas' watchers came to pick him up. They were constantly tracking him through the leg cuff, so it wasn't hard for them to find him. He waved goodbye to Axel and the redhead waved back with a grin.

"Hmm." He knew he should still be holding a grudge against Roxas. The kid had been a total pip when they met and had indirectly caused him a beating. But… Axel shrugged to himself. He wasn't the type to hold grudges and when Roxas was relaxed he actually seemed like an almost decent human being. And there was another idea lurking in the back of his mind. He'd never had anyone he could share his situation with but Roxas already knew about part of it. Could he trust the blonde with the rest?

He'd just have to wait and see.

* * *

"Are we ever going to get rid of this thing?" Reno looked over the body in a tank, unimpressed. He wasn't a scientist but he'd read the reports. This thing had been part of an experiment that interested him deeply. However, the experiment looked to be a complete failure and nothing they'd done since had shown any signs of success. Hojo shrugged then smiled. Reno hated that smile. Professor Hojo was probably the creepiest guy in the universe, in Reno's opinion.

"There's no reason to dispose of it." He said, running a hand over the glass lovingly. The thing inside didn't stir. Reno suspected it was dead although the scientists swore there was still biological activity. "Someday we might find a use for it." Although it wasn't among his favorite specimens. Analysis had been difficult and random experiments seemed to garner nothing at all.

Reno looked intently into the swirling liquid and for a moment it parted a little, revealing the creature within. It looked like a woman and with the burns defacing its skin, he could have thought it was just a mortally injured human. But it wasn't. It had been found buried in ice at the helm of a severely damaged craft. The scientists maintained it was a spaceship although they'd never managed to properly analyze the ore it was made of let alone the internal workings. Whatever it was, it had been keeping this female creature alive in a kind of stasis. At first it had refused to release her but when they injected it with mako and healing spells it had let the female go long enough for them to get it into a stasis pod. The life signs had never changed and the wounds had never healed. Reno's eyes dropped to her left arm and he had to suppress a shudder. It was hard to imagine how that blackened limb could ever heal into something functional. It looked like a charred skeleton.

"Maybe we should get Axel checked again." Reno mused and Hojo just shook his head, his expression showing what he thought of that. "Just to be sure."

"If he were going to show signs of change it would have been more pronounced when he was a baby." Professor Hojo pointed out and Reno could only nod. "I would love nothing better than to have a new specimen, but your brother's experiment was a failure. He's completely normal."

"Just as well." Reno really didn't want Axel under Hojo's care anyway.

The experiment had been simple. Riding high on the success of Sephiroth, Hojo and his father had decided to do a similar experiment on Axel's mother and her unborn child. Reno had been too young to know anything about it but apparently his parents had both volunteered for it. Instead of using Jenova, they had used this unusual being, taking its cells and infusing them with mako before injecting them into his mother.

Nothing had happened. The cells had seemed to be absorbed into his mother's body and the mako had gradually vanished. There had been no signs of increased strength or power in his mother and Axel had been born a normal child. He still had a trace of the mako and it seemed to help him heal faster than he otherwise should, but the scientists hadn't been able to find anything else unusual about him. Reno wished sometimes that it had been otherwise. Jenova's cells seemed to have adverse effects they were only beginning to understand. If only this being could have been an alternative…

But it wasn't. Reno shook his head and turned aside. So he missed strange eyes opening into tiny slits and the twinkle of dark green irises. A hand twitched faintly before the eyes slid back shut.

It wasn't really awake or aware… but it would be someday.

* * *

"This is where you live?" Roxas sounded utterly appalled. Axel just nodded, sitting with his back against a brick wall. "Axel, this is horrible!"

"It is what it is." He flicked a pebble away, watching it bounce through the dusty ground. The abandoned lot was full of weeds and dirt but not much in the way of real plants. "Have a seat? I'd offer you a chair but I haven't got any." He hadn't really wanted to take Roxas here but the blonde had wanted to see his home. Axel had finally decided it was easier to just show him.

The lean-to was well constructed out of wood and steel. Axel had a knack for building as well as drawing. Spatial relationships were very easy for him and Axel remembered one IQ test he'd taken that had involved moving and positioning blocks. Most of the test he'd only done okay at but he'd excelled in that one area. Along with practical knowledge of materials and tools, he'd made a pretty decent shelter for himself. It kept the rain off and provided good shelter from the wind in the winter. Although it wasn't warm. Axel had come perilously close to losing a toe or two the previous winter.

"This is crazy." Roxas seemed really dismayed by the sight and Axel just shrugged. "Why do you live like this? Don't you have a home?" Axel grimaced at the thought.

"Yeah… I'm basically a runaway." He shrugged again. "Dolang doesn't care as long as I don't upset his lies to Reno. I figure I've got two years left to go before I don't have to talk to either of them ever again." That made Roxas frown as he took a seat beside Axel.

"Reno seems to care about you." He pointed out and blinked as Axel laughed.

"As if! I haven't seen him for four years. He can't care that much." Roxas wondered about that for a moment. Reno acted like he knew Axel well. If they hadn't been meeting in person how could that be? "Pfh, forget about him. My family is all fucked up."

"So's mine." Roxas admitted, looking away. Axel wasn't terribly surprised by that. How else could the blonde have gotten so badly messed up? "Have you ever done drugs?" He expected Axel would say no and was very surprised when the redhead nodded.

"Kind of. I've tried everything." Axel shrugged as Roxas stared at him. "Shizzle, coke, magic mushrooms, E… I've tried them all. They just don't do anything for me. I get high for maybe five minutes and its over."

"Huh?" Roxas frowned. He knew a lot about the effects of drugs and that was flat out abnormal. "Really? That shouldn't be possible." For a moment he wasn't sure whether or not to believe Axel. But why would the redhead lie about something that weird? Axel scratched his hair for a moment then grinned.

"You think that's not possible? Heh. Whenever I first tried to take stuff, I'd try to take more as soon as the high was wearing off. Well, that was a dumb idea. I ended up puking my guts out. And when I did the same with injection stuff I just wanted to die. You have no idea. It's like my body rejects the stuff." Roxas tilted his head. That was an interesting thought.

"You know, if someone could figure out what your body does that could be the most effective drug rehab ever." He pointed out and Axel looked startled for a moment. He hadn't thought of that.

"Hmm, maybe. I'd rather not have those creepy guys look at me again though." Axel vividly remembered the last time he'd met Professor Hojo. He was like a proctologist with very cold hands and the worst bedside manner in the world. "It's probably not duplicatable anyway."

"Probably not." They sat in companionable silence for a while before Roxas spoke again. "Axel, how can you be so cheerful when you live like this?" Roxas just didn't understand it. He was living on a rubber mattress in a wooden shelter in the middle of a deserted lot. How could Axel be so… so happy? Axel laughed for a moment.

"I should let it get me down? It is what it is, and I like being on my own, doing things for myself. Sure it's a grind and my grades suck but it could be worse. I could be living with Dolang." Axel's tone was very cheerful and Roxas frowned.

"That seems a little… superficial." It wasn't really fake since this seemed to be who Axel really was, not something he put on for other people. But still, it was very much just the surface of things. Axel glanced over thoughtfully.

"You think way too much Roxas." Axel said teasingly and gripped his shoulder. Roxas blinked and stared as the redhead leaned closer. "They say that still waters run deep, but I think they're a lot more likely to have a muddy bottom full of weeds. Which would you rather be, a mucky swimming hole… or a clear, brisk stream with a nice rocky bottom that just invites people to jump in…?" Axel's voice dropped to a seductive, husky tone as he spoke and Roxas swallowed hard, feeling parts of himself stirring. He wasn't a virgin although almost none of his experiences had been positive. But Axel was activating his long forgotten libido. Warm lips touched his…

"Axel, stop." Roxas pulled away sharply and Axel blinked before looking slightly disappointed.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to press." For all he knew Roxas didn't even like guys. But from the look on the blonde's face Axel didn't think that was likely. He'd caught the desire there.

"It's nothing. I just… I'm not ready for that." Roxas had spent a long time in rehab and knew this was a bad time to start a relationship. He needed to be clean for a while before he took up with someone. And that was if he wanted to take up with Axel at all but the redhead did look awfully good. And he knew what it was like to have things rough. Not like most people at his new school. Axel smiled slowly and Roxas was enchanted by the way it made his green eyes sparkle.

"I can wait." Was all he said. Then Axel stretched with a sigh. "Want to go to the burger barn? I'd rather your watchers didn't pick you up here." That might make them start asking questions Axel didn't want to answer. Roxas nodded.

"Sure, I'll get you something." Axel had a massive appetite, not surprising for a growing teenager. It wasn't like there were any limits on his card so Roxas didn't mind funding his new friend at all. Sure, Axel was using him a bit but Roxas was using him right back. So it all seemed to work out.

Roxas only hoped things kept going this well.


	4. The Dangers of Living Alone

Author's Note: Where are my reviews? Reviews are my candy hearts. :(

"_Do you have to go?"_

"_Yes." Happy blue eyes met sad green and Reno smiled before he ruffled his little brother's hair. "Don't worry, Dolang will look after you." Axel swallowed and looked down. He was only eight but he'd learned to be very wary of his middle brother's temper. "Are you worried about what he said? Don't let it get to you. He knows it's not really true." Axel lifted his eyes to see Reno was frowning now, examining him carefully. He managed a smile for his brother._

"_Thanks Reno." It was a lie but a kindly meant one. Axel hugged his brother one last time before watching him leave._

_He never guessed it would be four years before they spoke again._

* * *

"_It's pretty isn't it?" Axel looked up at Reno again, but this time he didn't have look nearly as far. His brother was looking out over the water, a gentle smile on his lips. Axel glanced over the river. The setting sun was casting reflections in the water and gently illuminating a ship passing by as the stars began to peek out overhead. It was beautiful. But they weren't alone. Axel heard the wood of the railing creak as Dolang leaned against it and Axel glanced over at his other brother. His hair was gingery, a more orange version of his and Reno's fiery red. His eyes were the same blue as Reno's and the marks on his cheeks were dark brown darts. Axel met his eyes for a moment and shivered faintly at the chill amusement there before he looked at Reno again._

"_It's nice." He said softly and Reno smiled at him. "Will you be coming home again soon?" Axel felt Dolang's stillness behind him and knew he would pay for that later. But Reno just laughed and shook his head._

"_I can't come by very often. But don't worry. We can stay in touch. E-mail, letters, even canned videos… you name it!" Axel felt his heart breaking a little at those words. He didn't even know Reno's e-mail address. All the letters went through Dolang so they wouldn't reach him. But how could he tell Reno that? He couldn't. Dolang would deny it, try to make him out to be a liar and then he would kill him. Axel was genuinely terrified of his brother now. There was nothing Dolang wouldn't do. Nothing._

"_Okay." Axel said before reaching out to grip his brother's hand. "Reno…" For just a moment he trembled on the edge of blurting it out anyway. Begging Reno to do something. To save him. His grip on Reno's hand was too tight and Reno looked down at him, surprised._

_But he couldn't. It was his own fault, after all. Axel looked over the water again, avoiding Reno's eyes. His brother couldn't save him. He'd survive as best he could and then he would be gone._

_It was what he deserved._

* * *

"Shit!" Axel awoke with a start and had to concentrate on steadying his breathing and wiping away the tears. He'd wept plenty of times as a child until he'd learned the trick of just forgetting, shoving the past away and living in the moment. Without that coping track he was certain he'd be clinically depressed by now.

A light suddenly flashed in his face and Axel realized with a start that something had actually awoken him from his sleep. It had been the sound and light of someone prowling outside his shelter.

"Police. Come out." Axel cursed to himself. If someone was starting construction or had complained about him he could easily get forced off the lot. It had happened before and he didn't want to move again. Sighing in disgust Axel forced himself out of the shelter and squinted as the light blinded him for a moment. His eyes adjusted and suddenly widened. _Wait that's not –_

There was a blinding pain and the world suddenly went dark.

When Axel woke up next he almost wished he hadn't. He was bound hand and foot and stuffed in the trunk of a car. A gag was in his mouth and it tasted absolutely vile. Axel wiggled around, trying to see if there was anything he could do but the inside of the trunk was completely dark. He couldn't make out a thing. Working by feel he finally hit what he thought was the taillight and tried to concentrate on kicking it out. He thought he felt something give but nothing else happened.

The car suddenly slowed and Axel swallowed as it pulled to a stop. The truck popped open and he winced and half-closed his eyes against the sudden light. When they adjusted a quick glance around told him he was in a garage. Then there was a click and he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Be a good boy and I might let you leave alive." The man standing over him advised him with a small smile. Axel didn't believe it for a moment. He wasn't wearing a mask or anything else to hide his face. Although he was a very average sort of man, with weak features, a receding chin and dark brown hair. Axel wouldn't have remembered him if he'd passed him in the street but right now terror was etching everything quite firmly into his memory. The man used a knife to slice the bonds around his ankles, then remove his gag… but not very carefully. Axel gasped as a line of heat kissed his cheek and blood dripped into the trunk of the car.

"What do you want with me?" He asked, voice rasping as pain shot back and forth through his head as he climbed out of the car. It was hard with his hands tied behind his back but the man grabbed him, steadying Axel a bit. He shuddered as he felt the hard muzzle of the gun pressed against the center of his back. He did not want to die! But Axel was at a loss for how to prevent it. The man didn't answer but the sick smile he gave left Axel very little doubt of what he wanted.

"Move." He prodded Axel in the back with the gun and Axel moved, walking into the rest of the house. The man pushed him into the living room and Axel glanced around then shivered again. There were stains on the carpet that looked like old blood to him, although it was hard to be sure. It could have been coffee but he wasn't going to bet that way. "Kneel." Axel hesitated then yelped in pain as the main kicked him sharply in the back of his knees, sending him into the desired position. Axel yanked uselessly at the bindings around his wrists, but the cords felt very firm. He swallowed as the man sat down in the chair in front of him, still holding the gun and opened his pants. The sound of the zipper made Axel want to gag. "Suck me off." Axel blanched and the man sneered, gripping his hair with one hand as he held the gun with the other. "Don't try to tell me you're a virgin, street brat. I'm sure it's not the first cock you've sucked." Axel dearly wanted to say something nasty but he thought it was all too likely the man would shoot him. Taking a deep breath he let the man yank his head close and took the already erect penis in his mouth.

It didn't taste good at all and Axel had to fight the urge to gag. He was sure his reaction was largely mental but that didn't help much. Nor did the way the man shoved his face down, forcing him to deep throat it. Axel shuddered and gagged before managing to take it, the tip brushing the back of his throat. He couldn't throw up. Axel felt the barrel of the gun against his temple and closed his eyes for a moment. He could not throw up.

Opening his eyes he looked up, watching the man's expressions for any hint of what he would do as he gave him a blow job. Axel knew exactly how to do it… the man was right about that, he was no virgin. Although he'd only done it with Demyx, experimenting at his friends house. Axel could feel the way the veins were throbbing under his skin and was sure the man was getting close. The man looked down at him, a sadistic curl to his lip and Axel suddenly remembered a horror/porn novel he'd read a year or two ago. The serial killer in it had gotten his victims to perform oral sex then shot them in the head just as he reached orgasm. Fear knotted his stomach in a sudden dreadful certainty and flashed over into rage. If he was going to die he wasn't going to go like a damn mouse!

The scream was loud as Axel suddenly bit down with all his strength, blood filling his mouth. And as the man began to pull the trigger something seemed to _click_ in his mind. Some alien part of him was startled awake and reacted instantly. The gun bucked but the bullet ricocheted with a wild whine. Axel had no time to think about it and surged to his feet, spitting out a chunk of flesh. The ropes fell to the ground and a small part of his mind realized his wrists had just passed _through_ them. But how?

There was no time to think about it. The man was aiming his gun again, in stunning pain and enraged. Axel felt something suggest an action and he laughed wildly. It was only a matter of agitating the molecules just a little bit…

The man went up in flames, screaming. Axel flinched away, shocked and almost horrified by his own success. He ran out of the house as the screaming man flailed around, succeeding only in catching the rest of the furnishings on fire. Axel could hear the fire sirens already starting as the flames began to lick at the windows. Feeling dazed and disoriented, he peeled off his shirt and used it to wipe away the blood on his chin and face. He hesitated a moment then threw it away. It was summer and plenty of people went shirtless but very few walked around with blood all over them. Or with a long, shallow cut on their faces but there was nothing he could do about that.

Axel finally had to call a cab and spend his hard earned money to get home. But he had no idea where he was and wandering aimlessly was just too dangerous. Fortunately Roxas had saved him enough on food that he could sort of afford it, although he might end up going to the soup kitchen again before the month was out. Axel felt completely dazed as he got out of the cab and made his payment. When he was finally back in his shelter, he finally let himself think about what had happened.

"What was that?" He whispered to himself. "What did I do?" The last thing he was expecting was a reply, but that was exactly what he got.

_Alpha systems have activated. _Axel sat bolt upright as the voice whispered in his mind. It sounded just like his mother. _Activation has commenced early due to extreme stress. How may I assist you?_

"Assist me?!?" Axel swallowed, wondering if he was going stark raving insane. But no. The things that had happened in that house were real so this had to be real too. "Who… what are you?" There was a pause before the voice responded.

_I am your AI system. I exist to serve you. I will help you control your alpha systems. If you are ever rendered unconscious I will take action to preserve your life. I am an organic computer._

"Say what now?" Axel didn't understand that at all. "How did I get you? Normal people don't have organic computers!"

_Insufficient data._

"Ah, lovely." Axel muttered to himself. He could already tell that speaking to this thing was going to be a lot like talking to a computer. The voice was shifting too. Now it sounded like his father. "Okay. How does an organic computer work?" There was a pause and Axel had a distinct feeling that it was searching his mind for a way to explain in concepts he would understand.

_The base subsystem is the nanite. They exist on a cellular level. They are constantly maintaining and repairing your body. _Axel blinked. That explained his rapid healing. It wasn't mako at all, it was… nanites? _They are powered by a genetic change in your mitochondria. You are constantly generating power specifically keyed to them. They are self-replicating. The nanites have created a network in your brain. I an unable to describe properly. This was done when you were an infant. The result is the organic computer that controls all of your subsystems._

"I, uh, I see. So you're in my head." Axel guessed that some kind of addition had been built in his brain. How could Hojo and the others have avoided seeing it? Unless… "You were dormant until now?"

_Alpha systems were dormant waiting the finalization of pubertal changes._ Axel lifted his eyebrows at that but it was true he wasn't done growing. _Beta systems have been active. High spatial acuity and healing factors were a function. Alpha systems were activated prematurely due to severe stress._

"I can see that." If this thing existed in his head then it naturally wouldn't want him to die. "So are you going to be talking to me all the time now?" That didn't sound appealing. People would start thinking he was insane pretty quick if he was always talking to this thing.

_No. I exist to serve you. Make a request and I will answer._ The voice fell silent and Axel pursed his lips as he considered that. Something about the voice made him think it didn't have a lot of personality. It was just a mental helper and technically a part of his own mind. That was a bit reassuring.

"Okay. I want you to show me how I set that guy on fire and how I got out of those ropes." Axel thought about it a moment then added. "And how I stopped that bullet – oh shit." Suddenly a wave of dizziness hit him. "This… I've… what's happening to me?"

_You have been under great stress. Adrenaline shock has run out. Please eat and sleep to regain energy. _Axel blinked and realized that what he'd done must have been a huge strain to his newfound abilities. Beyond speech, he grabbed a piece of bread and ate it ravenously. He almost choked a few times but washed it down with a water bottle. Then he lay down on his rubber mattress.

If he dreamed, he didn't remember.

* * *

Axel skipped the next three days of school. Both to let his cheek heal and to master the strange abilities he'd been gifted with. He quickly realized that while they would be incredibly useful for a SOLDIER or Turk, the powers were going to be of limited value in civilian life.

He could set things on fire. That was a really fun ability and Axel had been playing with leaves a bit. He could also put out fires but that wasn't nearly as amusing. Maybe he could become a firefighter? That was an intriguing thought. He could also erect spot shields of hardened air. Axel was vague on how it worked but they could stop a bullet, although it was very difficult for him. That was a tactic of last resort. He could also levitate objects and while that would definitely have some offensive uses, it was hard to imagine a use for it in real life. A magic show? Everyone would assume he was a fake but it would be amusing.

The one power that was really useful was the phasing. It turned out he'd gotten rid of the ropes by going out of phase with them. The computer informed him that he was changing the molecules of his body so they were just a bit out of phase with reality, and when he was in that state he could walk through walls and solid objects couldn't harm him. Plenty of other things could though. The computer said electricity definitely good and possibly magic as well. It seemed to have a hard time grasping the concept of magic at all.

The useful applications of this power made Axel grin in pure joy. He no longer needed Dolang. Shifting and walking into homes to use the shower was easy as breathing, although he did have to be careful to pick ones where all the people had left for work. And if he wanted, Axel could be the greatest cat burglar who ever lived. That was something he would have to think about. He didn't much like the thought of stealing but surely people wouldn't notice a few cans of beans, the odd bangle that had been misplaced…?

Wincing at his own larcenous thoughts, Axel lay back on his rubber mattress, beaming. He'd never imagined that getting raped a bit could lead to something this grand. He still hated to think about the terror of that night and the taste of the man's cock, but it wasn't important compared to the wonder that had entered his life. If Dolang ever tried to hurt him again he could set him on fire!

Suddenly Axel's glee was tempered. He could set Dolang on fire alright. But his brother knew magic and was fast and strong as any SOLDIER. Axel suddenly had a horrible image of burning his brother and Dolang snapping his neck before he died. No, it would be better to just avoid his middle brother completely. Even now his fantasies of revenge were just too dangerous. It wasn't worth the risk.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh, Axel set about getting ready for school tomorrow. It was time to go back and while his face was still puffy and ugly, the cut was almost done healing. He'd make up some story to account for it. As he got ready though, he wondered.

What was he going to tell Roxas?


	5. Valeria

_Axel glanced around, eyes wide._

_He was standing in a landscape as beautiful as it was alien. A lush forest, not quite a rainforest but close. It smelled of green, growing things although there was an alien, musky counterpoint. There were trees with odd, deep grey 'bark' and lush green leaves. Those were the most understandable part of what he was seeing. As he watched a hanging flower? Detached itself from a tree and began to slowly make its way to a new tree. It suddenly froze as something with light grey skin and odd little fronds paced by. It had sharp teeth and Axel immediately realized this had to be a predator. The eyes were black and beady but it missed the little flower. A beetle of some sort flew by and the beast abruptly leaped, catching it in its mouth and crunching. Axel tilted his head to one side as he realized the predator's flesh wasn't quite normal. It looked more like cork than real skin and muscle._

"_Neat hey?" Axel started violently at the cheerful voice behind him and turned to see a woman grinning at him. A woman?_

_No, she wasn't a woman. Maybe not even a female. She had a snub nose in a heart shaped face and full, lush lips. Her skin was the same light grey as the predator and there were delicate streaks of black forming whirling patterns on her skin. Her 'hair' was tubes of hard matter, like beads and they seemed to be made in sections and held together with little flexible black parts. They rattled as she turned her head, regarding him with cheerful green eyes. Her eyes were shockingly human and so was her grin, although the way her muscles moved under her skin was just a touch different, as if they were positioned slightly differently. Axel found himself reaching out to touch her and she caught his hand with a laugh. The flesh under his fingers felt a little firmer and warmer than he was used to and he was reminded of his initial impression of cork._

"_Who are you?" He asked as she leaned against a tree, still grinning and revealing tiny white teeth. "…What are you?" He amended his question a bit. He had no idea what this creature was at all. She sighed and let go of his hand, reaching up to ruffle her hair and set it rattling._

"_I'm Valeria. You can call me Val if you want." Axel blinked. That was a pretty common name in Midgar. Was that really an alien's name? "I'm a T'assa. We're an alien race although you've probably guessed that. Although to me, it's you who's the alien!" She smiled and Axel couldn't help but smile back. There was something so cheerful and peppy about her._

_  
"But you're on my planet at the moment." He pointed out then glanced around. "Well, theoretically. I'm dreaming aren't I?" Val nodded._

"_Yessiree. This is a creation of my mind. I seem to have defaulted to baby memories." Val looked around thoughtfully, then poked her toe into the soil. "I haven't been here since I was, mmm, five? Long time. Meh." She waved her hand and abruptly the scene shifted to… what? Axel glanced around and felt surprisingly at home. This was a little cantina with several people sitting at tables and a quiet murmur of conversation in the air. To his surprise, many of the people here looked human although there were plenty of T'assa as well. Although the human people looked a little strange to him, with odd hair colors and some really creative body work. He saw at least one girl who looked like she had metal and gems embedded into her skin. It was beautiful but he had no idea how it was done. "Want some peanut butter cookies?"_

"_Sure." Only after he was eating did Axel consider how an alien would know about peanut butter cookies. And they sure tasted like peanut butter… "Did you get this from my head?" She looked puzzle for a moment._

"_What do you – oh! No, I didn't. My universe has peanut butter cookies." She leaned forward, meeting his eyes intently. "It's like this. You see all the human looking people around here?" He nodded cautiously. "They're human. Although we call them Terrans. At first I thought maybe I'd somehow made it into the past but I'm pretty sure I'm not. I'm from some kind of alternate timeline."_

"_Uh… really?" That sounded incredible but she was an alien. He was willing to believe anything. Valeria nodded._

"_Yes. In my dimension there's no magic or mako, which is why the computer has such a tough time getting its little pea brain around the concept." Axel grinned at her scornful tone. "I'm contacting you right now because, um… you sort of have some of my DNA." She grinned as Axel stared at her. "Although you're the ugliest kid I've ever imagined having!"_

"_I – do – say WHAT?!?" Axel sputtered as she tried to look sympathetic but kept ruining it with that errant, urchin grin. "How is that possible?" He suddenly wondered if he should believe her. Maybe he was hallucinating. But her explanation made a great deal of sense._

"_They were trying to make a new Sephiroth… whoever that is, I could never figure that out… so they injected your mother with a solution of my cells and mako." Valeria rolled her eyes. "Which is moronic since I'm, you know, an ALIEN but that's what they did. Fortunately the nanites grabbed onto you and quickly identified you as a baby. The mako boosted the nanites long enough to cannibalize my cells to make more nanites and modify your mitochondria." She paused to take a long drink of something blue and frothy and gestured. Axel blinked as a mug of the same stuff appeared in front of him and took a cautious sip._

"_Erk!" It was GOOD… very good in fact… but incredibly shocking. He felt like he'd just drunk the coldest water from the clearest, crispest stream in the universe. It faded swiftly but left him with a tingling mouth and a desire to drink more. "Wow, what is this?"_

"_Zerg. Amazing isn't it? You Terrans have all the best toys. Anyway, like I was saying. The nanites also used some of my genetic code in the rest of you, and since you were a baby it was self-replicating. That's why none of this worked on your mom by the way. Undirected nanites can't do diddly with an adult. This might sound a bit nutty but those nanites are just amazing when it comes to making genetic modifications." Valeria shrugged, finishing off her cookie. "Only the mako let it work though. That stuff is amazing. My universe would love some samples."_

"_Why didn't Professor Hojo notice any of this?" Axel asked, wondering if she would know the answer. As it turned out she did._

"_He's too focused on someone named Sephiroth. He kept looking for obvious changes, alien cells floating around, but it's a lot more subtle than that. Everything is hidden away unless you actually do a full genetic scan." She paused a moment and shrugged. "Well, now a straight brainscan would work too, now that the alpha systems are online. But the beta were only a little sparkier than normal activity."_

"_So part of you is in me… this is really hard for me to accept." Axel wasn't sure what to make of it at all. Although… "What do you want from me?" He was sure Valeria wanted something. She grinned at him._

"_Clever boy! I do want something but that's going to have to wait." She reached out with one finger and Axel realized she had retractable claws. "Wake up and go to school!" Her finger hit his chest and he felt a jolt –_

* * *

"Eck!" Axel jerked awake with a violent start, blinking at the sunshine. "Hnn." Shaking his head he stood and started getting ready for school. He was sure he hadn't just dreamed that. "Valeria." He murmured her name and pictured the grinning, grey skinned alien with her wild bead-like hair. She had been beautiful in an androgynous way and he wondered. Was she female? Did her race have sexes like his? He hadn't gotten a chance to ask.

He wanted to just stay in his shelter and think about it but Valeria was right. He needed to go to school or soon the teachers would be contacting Dolang about his truancy. The last thing he wanted was for his brother to come looking for him. Packing his books away he started off to a house he knew would be empty this time of day. Slipping inside with his phasing, he made sure no one was home before he took a quick shower and stole a bagel out of the breadbox. Munching his pilfered snack, Axel made his way to the bus stop. He really didn't like stealing but his money was running very low right now.

"Axel, where have you been?" Roxas asked as soon as they sat down together in class and Demyx quickly seconded him.

"Yeah, where have you been? What happened to your face? Are you okay?" The mark on his face had turned into a thin line and a bit of a bruise. Pretty amazing for three days, really, and Axel was sure it would heal without a scar.

"I'm fine. Just had an accident with a butcher knife." He said easily and Demyx looked dismayed as Roxas gave him a hard look. Axel could guess what he was thinking but the blonde wasn't going to press him in class.

He did press him as soon as school was over.

"Axel, this has got to stop." Roxas said, harsh and intent as Axel blinked. "Don't look at me like you don't know! You have to tell Reno. If he's cutting you now he really is going to kill you!" Axel shook his head.

"It wasn't Dolang." Roxas looked skeptical as Axel grinned. "Hey, I wouldn't lie about that! Let's get to my shelter and talk about it." They walked from the bus stop to his shelter and while Roxas was clearly bursting with questions, he stayed quiet until they were well away from any possible watchers. "Okay. What happened was a guy tried to rape me." Roxas winced but wasn't too surprised. He'd thought right when he saw it that Axel's little home was terribly exposed. "I think he was going to kill me too but I killed him. You know that house fire in the news? That was me."

"Huh?" Roxas blinked at that. "You? How did you stop him?" Axel grinned and Roxas stared as he picked up a leaf and set it on fire. The leaf burned briefly before dissolving into ashes.

"It looks like Hojo and all those assholes did some kind of experiment on me when I was a baby." He explained the entire thing as Roxas sat, stunned. Axel hesitated before including his dream about the alien. "…So anyway, I want to see what she wants. I really like her." Axel wasn't sure if there was any connection but he and Valeria seemed to have a similar personality. She was an outgoing and cheerful sort. Roxas looked very dubious. "What?"

"You seem to trust her awfully fast. You don't know anything about her." That worried Roxas a bit. "What if she's out for global domination or something?" Axel grinned.

"She's going to eat our braaaaains!" Roxas gave him an unamused look and Axel laughed. "Come on Roxas, she's just a lost adventurer. She's a bit ruthless, maybe, but still really nice." Axel could feel that from her. Valeria seemed a bit predatory but still like a good person. "And you should see her smile. I feel like she's a lot like me. And she looks so… human." Although Axel knew Valeria would laugh and say they smiled like a T'assa. It was just remarkable how much they seemed to share.

"Well, she's not. You should make sure to keep it in mind." Roxas sighed as Axel looked hurt. "Sorry Axel. It's just that this is creeping me out a little. Have you thought about what you're going to do with these powers?"

"Are you kidding? I haven't been thinking of anything else!" Axel casually burnt another leaf as Roxas watched. He was finding he enjoyed the fire making most of all. The other abilities required some effort but this was easy as breathing. "I was thinking I could be a firefighter."

"Say what? Oh, you can put out fires too?" Axel nodded and snuffed out the leaf before it was done. "Neat."

"Yeah. Or I could be a stage magician, that would be fun." Axel grimaced. "If my grades weren't such shit I could be an architect or something." The innate grasp of spatial relations he was blessed at made anything like that pretty easy. And while Axel wasn't super fond of math he'd found that the organic computer in his head could handle calculations easily. It was like having the best calculator in the world at his fingertips. Then Axel noticed Roxas was looking hesitant. "What?"

"Nothing. Just… have you thought about telling Reno?" Axel shook his head with a frown and Roxas sighed. "I know you don't want to be examined by Hojo again and I don't blame you, but you could get into SOLDIER. Or the Turks."

"What!" Axel threw back his head with a laugh. "They don't take underachievers like me!" Being in either required more than physical prowess, it required good grades and dedication. Roxas snorted.

"Axel, you're not thinking." Axel frowned as Roxas continued. "Or rather, you're thinking of yourself as normal. Do you think Sephiroth had the best grades as a kid? Or Genesis? Well actually I think Genesis did but I know Sephiroth didn't. Do you think that kept him out of SOLDIER?"

"…Oh." Axel hadn't thought of it that way at all. "You think they'd take me no matter what?" He wasn't sure he liked that thought. He'd never even considered SOLDIER or the Turks as an option before because he knew his application would be laughed at. And he didn't want join the basic forces. But did he want to join SOLDIER at all? "I, uh, I don't know that I want to fight. I've never tried at all." Except for a bit of dirty fighting he was fairly ignorant. He felt the AI stir in his mind, a sensation like a polite cough for attention. "What?"

_Alpha systems include extensive preprogrammed combat routines along with combat mind sequencing._ Axel blinked at that and Roxas almost said something before he waved the other boy quiet.

"Sorry, my AI is talking to me… you mean you know how to fight?"

_Yes. Currently the combat systems would take partial control during times of stress and full control if you are rendered unconscious. When you are more skilled they will work with you more efficiently._

"Oh." Axel frowned and looked at Roxas. "I think it's saying that it can fight for me but when I know how to fight it'll work with me." That seemed to be the general gist. Roxas nodded.

"That makes sense." Roxas sighed, leaning back and looking troubled. "You really need to think about this Axel, especially about telling Reno. You really should get looked at in case this is unstable or something." Axel wanted to retort that it was no one's business but his own, but stifled it. Roxas was only trying to help and quite likely he was right.

"I'll think about it." He said instead. "Hey, I'm hungry. Can we go to the Burger Barn? Please? I'm about wiped out from that cab ride." Roxas smiled, standing and brushing off his pants.

"If it'll keep you from breaking into some poor family's home and stealing their supper, sure." Roxas gently teased him and Axel blushed. He was still a bit ashamed of his new thieving tendencies although he was trying to keep it very modest.

"Oh, psh! No one notices a can of beans…" Roxas laughed at him and Axel grinned as they walked over to the Burger Barn. "Hey, you know, we've been talking all about my future. What are you planning to do when you graduate?"

"Me?" Roxas was a bit startled by the question. "Uh… nothing really." Axel gave him a curious look and Roxas shrugged. "Go to University maybe, when Rufus is satisfied I won't go back on drugs."

"What happened with that? I mean, if you don't mind me asking." Axel added hastily as they stepped up to the counter at the Burger Barn. He knew his friend might not want to talk about it. Roxas placed an order and spoke quietly as they waited patiently.

"Not really. It's been a while and I guess you deserve to know." Axel had certainly opened up completely to him, trusting him with the knowledge of his unusual powers. Roxas waited until they were safely at one of the tables before he started talking. "My dad was gone a lot when I was a kid and mom… she was Rufus' sister… well, she wasn't normal. At all." Roxas took a sip of his drink as Axel listened. "She was taking pills when I was just a little kid and gave me them to take with her."

"What?!?" Axel blinked at that. Even most druggies had more sense. "How old were you?" Roxas grimaced.

"I don't know, seven?" Axel stared, speechless. "I know. She thought it was funny. Things just got worse when I was old enough to find drugs myself. Then dad died and she went completely around the bend." Roxas swallowed heavily. "She OD'd… and I was too far gone to care. I just took her credit cards and left her there." He hated to think about that mindset although he still couldn't find a lot of compassion for his mother. She'd earned it. "I stayed in the house and just sealed the room… disgusting, I know, but I was on so many different things." He felt like a completely different person now that he was clean and sober and his own actions disgusted him.

"Wow. No wonder Rufus is getting the Turks to watch you." Axel could see why Rufus would be guilty too. He must have known his sister wasn't all there, although he probably hadn't known how far it went. "You're not doing badly for all that."

"Thanks. You're not doing too badly either." Roxas said dryly and Axel grinned. "Thanks for not freaking out." The only person he'd told this story to so far had been his psychiatrist. He'd been worried about Axel's reaction but the redhead seemed to be taking it well.

"S'nothing. I spent last night listening to an alien tell me I'm loaded with little organic computer bits, I can take anything." Roxas had to laugh at that.

"You're silly." Roxas wondered for a moment if Axel was right about Valeria being a lot like him. If so, and if she had powers as strong as his, that was a little frightening… but awesome at the same time.

The world would never know what hit it.


	6. It's Probably Not Herpes

"_So where am I now?" Axel asked curiously. He and Valeria were sitting on a park bench in a completely different world than the last one, watching the people go by. And other things. "…Was that a giant crab?"_

"_That was a Jorta. They're a lot less simpatico with your race than T'assa are, but you can get along." Valeria pulled out a piece of gum, popping it in her mouth and chewing. "They can't stand us. We're even less formal than Terrans and it drives Jorta up the wall, especially since we can usually whip their asses." Valeria shrugged. "Mostly we have nothing to do with each other. That one would be a visitor. This is a joint Terran/T'assa colony. I lived here as a teenager."_

"_Ah. That explains the trees." They were nothing like the grey barked ones he'd seen on the first world. Instead they looked like oak, poplar and some possibly alien species. "This isn't Earth, is it?"_

"_No. Earth had a complete biosphere collapse. It's a long story." Valeria blew a bubble for a moment before sucking it back. "I don't really want to get into that. It's a lot of history. We have more important things to worry about."_

"_Mmm, okay." Axel could see that although he was very curious and intended to bother her later. Looking at Valeria he noticed there were huge, soft looking fronds growing out her back. They were yellow and dappled with black markings and reminded him of the petals of a flower. She was wearing a gown designed to leave her back free, and the bench they were sitting on had no back. "So I was wondering. What sex are you?" Valeria grinned at the blunt question and offered him some gum. Axel took it with a smile._

"_So blunt! I'm both sexes really." Axel blinked at that as he chewed his gum. "My people are a bit more like plants when it comes to reproduction. You see the fronds on my back? They're my reproductive organs. We all make pollen and collect it, although it's a bit more involved than that." She tapped her hair for a moment. "My hair is what you would call cellulose."_

"_Wow… life on your planet must be totally different." It sounded like plants had gone sideways in her world, blurring the definition between the two. That would explain the moving flower._

"_Yup! It's amazing that we have so much in common really." Valeria grinned, revealing white little teeth. "Especially expressions. But then, we're descended from pack predators and our ancestors always smiled!" Axel laughed at that and she smiled. "So, want me to tell you what I want from you?"_

"_Please!" That was something he was really concerned about. Valeria suddenly sobered._

"_I want to be free. I'd prefer to live again but I'll accept death if that's all I can do. But I don't want to be in this half state anymore. I've been held on the edge of death far too long. I don't want to go on like this anymore." Axel swallowed at that thought, bright green eyes meeting darker. Had she been awake this entire time? She seemed to read his thoughts and shook her head. "I haven't really been awake until recently. The stasis is like a waking dream and the nanites make sure it's a good, pleasant dream. I've been observing everything around me but not really taking it in… it's sort of zen and hard to explain. But it didn't hurt. Still, it has to end."_

"_I see." Axel said slowly then grimaced. "They must have you in some kind of secret lab. Getting you out will be a pain." She nodded._

"_I know. I can guide you if necessary but my suggestion is actually to take Roxas up on his idea and turn yourself in to Reno and co." She shrugged as he stared. "They'll probably take you right to me. Once you free me, there's mako baths around. You can dump me in one. It'll cure me or kill me, no middle ground."_

"_Hmm." Axel had to think about it a bit. "If… if I do this, I'm going to be in deep shit with everyone aren't I?" Shinra would be after him and Valeria both. She winced._

"_Yes, I know. I'm sorry but I really need help." She said unhappily. "I can't do anything for myself." If she could she wouldn't be involving him. "You don't have to do this right away though. In fact, you should probably think about it a while. There's no hurry."_

"_Thanks." Axel was grateful for that. He didn't want to be rushed into anything. Becoming a fugitive from the law was a huge step. And would Roxas want to come with him? Maybe the blonde would. It wasn't like he was thrilled with his family._

_He'd just have to see._

* * *

"You really should get that checked out." Zack said casually as he watched a pair of children at play.

"I know." Cloud muttered as he scratched his crotch, shifting uncomfortably.

"It's probably just the mako treatments. You only got them last month, there can be side effects. Nothing to be embarrassed about." The redhead was laughing as he tried to use a skateboard and the blonde was grinning. Zack smiled, feeling almost nostalgic. It reminded him of his own childhood.

"I _know!"_ Zack turned his head and noticed his younger companion was blushing. Smiling a touch wickedly, he decided to make it worse.

"It's _probably_ not herpes."

"_Zack!_" Cloud hissed and Zack laughed before turning his attention back to the children. They were heading off now and hadn't noticed their shadows at all.

This was an easy mission for them, but Cloud was brand new to his enhancements. And easy or not, this was important. Rufus wasn't willing to just take Reno's word that his brother was the perfect kid to play with Roxas. He'd checked with the school and found that Axel was two grades lower than he should have been. Zack didn't know if he'd shared that information with Reno yet but was sure he eventually would. Right now, though, he wanted to find out what the boys were doing. So far it was entirely innocent. They had grabbed some food at a local café and now they were skateboarding. Roxas' watchers pulled up to take him home and he waved goodbye to Axel before hopping in.

"So are we done here?" Cloud asked and Zack shook his head, watching Axel.

"Not just yet. Might as well do it thoroughly." So far everything looked good but they could do with more information about Axel. The redhead was sitting on a step, notebook out and sketching with a dreamy look on his face. Cloud was mightily bored when the kid finally packed up his book and went… where?

"Why isn't he going home?" Cloud asked and Zack frowned. They knew where Axel's home was. Reno had told everyone all about his little brother and how he was living with Dolang in the old family house. But Axel seemed to be showing no interest in going there. Instead he was what?

"Hmm." Zack broke out a pair of binoculars and took a close look at the place Axel was staying. It was a little shack. Rather well made but clearly the work of someone without a building permit. He passed the binoculars to Cloud, who took a look then frowned. "Maybe he's camping?" Zack suggested doubtfully and Cloud shook his head.

"It's cold out Zack. The weather forecast is snow." Cloud couldn't imagine sleeping in a shack when you had home and bed to go to when snow was on the way. Unless there was a damn good reason. "You know, I met Dolang in training."

"Oh?" Zack knew nothing about Dolang except his name. He'd been a member of SOLDIER a lot longer than Cloud, who had only finished his training a month ago. Cloud nodded somberly.

"He was a magical combat trainer. Really, really good at it but pretty hard on the trainees." Cloud hesitated and then shrugged. "I didn't want to say it when I found out he was Reno's brother, but everyone was kind of scared of him. He's got a temper and he's sort of creepy." Zack frowned and filed that under interesting but inconclusive.

"We need to report." Sephiroth would read their report and forward it to Rufus. He wasn't too keen on having his men wasting their time watching children, but Roxas was Rufus only close relative at the moment. Until Rufus was married and had children of his own, if that ever happened, the company and world government could possibly end up in the hands of an untried boy with a very unstable home life. What seemed like a waste might in fact be vital someday.

But they had done all they could at the moment. It was time to report their findings.

* * *

"Reno, how are you staying in touch with your younger brother?"

"Huh?" Reno blinked, pulled out of his thoughts by Tseng's question. "Axel? E-mail and video clips mostly. We've been meaning to set up a webcam so we could have real live meetings but haven't gotten around to it. Why?" He couldn't see why Tseng would care. The leader of the Turks pursed his lips for a moment.

"Rufus decided to check up on Roxas and your brother and found some interesting facts. He's been held back two years, his grades are straight C's and he appears to be a runaway. You have no knowledge of any of this?" Reno felt a bit like he was falling down a rabbit hole.

"That can't be right. Dolang has been sending me his report cards! He said everything's fine." Reno wasn't dumb enough to believe Axel without any confirmation. "Is Rufus sure? And what do you mean he's a runaway?"

"He's living in an abandoned lot in a little shelter. It's rather exposed but he's still there despite the snow." Tseng said disapprovingly. He didn't have children but he still didn't think this was the correct way to treat them at all. Even if Axel didn't want to live at home there were better ways. Reno stared at him, shocked.

"That's fucking ludicrous Tseng! I'm calling Dolang." Stalking away he flipped open his cell phone. "Dolang! What in fuck man?"

_Reno? What? _His brother sounded baffled and Reno growled.

"What's this I hear about Axel living on the streets? You've been telling me everything is fine!" Reno was sure Tseng and Rufus couldn't be wrong but nothing added up. His brother replied in a smooth tone.

_Oh, he just likes to camp sometimes. And sometimes we fight. It's nothing to worry about Reno._ Normally he would have been reassured by that tone. He knew Dolang was competent. Right now it just fanned his anger.

"Oh yeah? And what's this about him being two years behind and getting C's? You bullshitting me Dolang?" Reno growled then snorted. "Fuck this. I'm going to talk to him myself!" He snapped the phone shut and looked for Tseng. "Where's this abandoned lot Axel is staying at?"

"I can show you." Tseng said with a frown, feeling a strange suspicion in his mind. "Perhaps we should hurry." Dolang probably knew where Axel was staying too, and whatever was going on he had to be part of it.

He had no idea how prophetic that thought would prove to be.

* * *

Axel was whistling and drawing on stair near his hideout when he saw his brother come stalking up.

"Dolang!" His middle brother looked _pissed._ Axel swallowed hard and stood, looking for a good way to run. But Dolang wouldn't beat him up or kill him in public right in the middle of daylight! Would he? Then Axel suddenly remembered he had some weapons in his arsenal. That was comfort –

"OOOF!" Dolang had grabbed him around the collar and shoved his back to the wall.

"You little fucker, I should kill you." Dolang snarled as Axel squirmed, debating phasing out. But if he did everyone would know… "You and your fooling around with Rufus' cousin. That fucker checked up on you and told Reno!"

"Wh-who? Rufus?" That was a shock. Axel hadn't thought he would warrant such attention. "Oh, the house of cards is finally coming down? What a horror. Let go of me!" Axel spat out and Dolang grinned mirthlessly.

"Oh, I don't think so brat." Axel started to phase out but he remembered too late that it had no effect on electricity. Or magic. The magical shock Dolang gave him was calculated to incapacitate and Axel collapsed to the ground with a cry. Dolang frowned and flexed his fingers. Axel had felt oddly insubstantial for a moment… but that had probably been his imagination. Reaching down he gripped the boys' collar –

And was utterly shocked by a fist to the face. Dolang took two steps back in surprise and recovered just as a foot hit him in the chest. Gathering himself he snarled and launched an attack and was stunned as Axel grabbed his arm and threw him easily. This shouldn't have been happening. Axel was untrained.

"Axel, what the fuck!" Dolang spun on his feet and began calling up his magic but stopped for just a moment as he looked into Axel's eyes. They were empty as the eyes of a glass doll, as if the owner wasn't home. Instead, something alien was looking out at him. Dolang hesitated just a moment then scowled and threw his spell.

The fire magic was caught easily and danced around Axel's hands before being flung back. Dolang replied to it immediately with ice to block and Axel spread his hands in a lifting gesture. He wasn't summoning magic, Dolang could tell… but all the garbage in the lot suddenly exploded into the air and the shelter came apart, boards swirling around Axel in a cacophony of junk. Then they flew at him with stunning force and Dolang had to dodge frantically.

"What the hell?" Reno stared as he got out of the air and he vaguely heard Tseng calling for backup. There was one hell of a fight going on in front of him and people were already running for cover. "Dolang! Axel! Shit, stop!" Dolang was really trying to kill Axel and it looked like his little brother was returning the favor. But how was he doing this? Fire was flowing through the air and items were getting thrown all over the place, along with a vicious martial arts skill Reno had never seen in Axel before. His speed was amazing and none of the hits Dolang was getting in seemed to stop him for a moment. And the marks were healing freakishly fast but Reno couldn't pick up even the smallest hint of magic.

"You stop Axel. I'll take Dolang." Tseng thought they couldn't wait for backup to break this up or someone was going to die. Reno nodded sharply and managed to tackle Axel just as Tseng brought down Dolang. The ginger haired man had just enough sense not to strike out at the Turk. Axel wiggled for a moment then looked at Reno for a long moment. Reno wasn't sure what to make of the look on his face. It was so blank yet so calculating.

"Reno. Neutral or hostile." Axel cocked his head to one side then glanced over at where Tseng was reaming out a sullen Dolang. Then he blinked. "Reno…?" There was suddenly more life in his voice and Reno was relieved to see animation return to his face. "What happened?"

"I don't know, you tell me. How were you tossing things around like that?" Reno asked and Axel's expression went blank.

"Oh, I… have no idea." Reno scowled and let go of Axel's arms to slap him, hard. The redhead just looked at him blankly and Reno immediately felt guilty… but not too guilty. He knew Axel was lying.

"Don't lie to me! I have a right to know what's going on." He snapped and Axel suddenly scowled.

"Bullshit!" Axel snarled back, loud enough to attract Tseng's attention. "You don't know SHIT about me Reno!" Another car arrived and Elena and Rude piled out but Axel didn't care. "You haven't talked to me in four years! FUCK you Reno! You're worthless!" Axel tried to punch his brother in the chest but Reno blocked him. "Let me go!"

"Stop exaggerating." Reno said harshly. "We've been e-mailing and sending videos back and forth the whole time." Axel looked at him wide-eyed for a moment then threw back his head and laughed wildly.

"Wow, and it's so hard to fake e-mails and videos! Video editing here we come… I haven't sent you a damn thing Reno. Not a thing. You don't know me, now… oh fuck this." Reno suddenly found himself gripping nothing but air and a suddenly insubstantial Axel sprinted away. He passed into a building as Reno stared after him and there was a shriek from inside, confirming that whoever was in the house had just been surprised.

"Axel! Shit… after him!" Rude and Elena took off after the fleeing boy although it was nearly hopeless. Axel could go directly through buildings and hide in places they could never reach, but they had to try. Reno turned to glare at Dolang. "Dolang. You fucker. What's been going on?" Reno felt like one of the great certainties of his world had just been knocked to pieces. Dolang was breathing heavily and there was something feral and mad in his eyes.

"You know what's going on. It was all his fucking fault!" Dolang raged at his brother, who stared at him wide-eyed. "All his fault mother died! His fault father left us! He's the one who ruined our family and I HATE him! He should never have been born!"

"What?" Reno had heard Dolang say that before but he'd thought it was a passing fit of madness. "You… that's insane! He was only five! You were the one who left him by the river, if it was anyone's fault it was yours!" It suddenly occurred to Reno that Dolang probably knew that, deep down. Axel had fallen into the river at five and their mother had saved him at the cost of her own life. And Dolang had left Axel by the river in a moment of pure irresponsibility. But he couldn't accept the guilt for it. Had he been putting it on Axel this whole time?

"NO! He shouldn't have fallen in! That little bastard doesn't deserve to live!" The two brothers were shouting at each other when Tseng tuned them out and flipped open his cell phone to alert Rufus.

He needed to know that Axel's experiment was apparently a success and they needed to do something about it. The child seemed nice enough but they couldn't let him run around with these powers in a questionable mental state.

It was just too dangerous.


	7. Sex in a Broom Closet

Axel shivered, huddling in the corner of an abandoned warehouse. He had no idea where he was or what he was doing but he was beyond exhaustion now. Falling into a restless sleep, he dreamed…

_The water. So cold so fast dragging him down a scream he couldn't breath NO –_

"_Axel!" Hands gripped him and pulled him up and he wanted to cry to them to stop, to let him go, let him die. But then strong arms were pulling him to shore and Axel blinked. That wasn't right. That wasn't how things had gone. And when had his mother gotten cellulose hair?_

"_Mama?" He managed to say, his voice a childish treble but then a hand cupped his face. It was warmer and firmer than he remembered._

"_No Axel, you're having a nightmare. It's me, Valeria. Snap out of it!" Abruptly the scene shifted and they were no longer in a cold river. Axel coughed and started to cry as warm arms wrapped around him. "Shhh. Shhh."_

"_S'all my fault…" Axel believed what Dolang had told him. It was his fault his mother died and his fault his father had left. His fault the family had fallen apart. Valeria regarded the child in her arms with a frown._

_Some trick of parallel evolution had given T'assa and Terrans a good level of compatibility. They weren't identical, of course, but Valeria understood what was happening. Among T'assa, just like Terrans, it was a child's tendency to blame calamities on herself. If only she had been a better girl… Valeria bit her lip for a moment as she tried to think how to handle this._

"_Axel." Valeria lifted his chin up again, making him look at her. He was just a child in this past time, eyes wide and traumatized. "You're only a baby. Bad things happen sometimes but that doesn't make it your fault." She didn't know exactly what had happened but she could feel his anguish and grief._

"_Dolang said it was." Axel whispered and Valeria winced. An older brother reinforcing that conviction would have made things a hundred times worse._

"_No. You're a BABY. Babies can't be responsible for anything." She said firmly and believed it. Five was just a baby. She was inside his head and Axel could feel her belief, her utter certainty. He broke down into tears again but this time they felt better, a cleaner grief. "Can we come up a bit? We really need to talk."_

"_Okay." Axel didn't quite know what he was agreeing to, but the world around him shifted. Instead of the cold, overcast sky and swollen river they were sitting on the roof of a building. Axel looked around, adult again and gaped._

_This was a city of the future. Bright pink tubes were flexing and flowing in the air, bringing travelers to whatever destination they wanted. The buildings were clearly built with fewer constraints than he was used to, and they glittered like jewels in the sun. The city seemed to be built in layers and Axel realized he and Valeria were very high indeed. Despite that there was only a tiny breeze. Glorious walkways and paths lay below them, run between buildings and seeded with greenery. It was very artificial and wonderful at the same time._

"_How can a place like this exist?" He asked, not expecting an answer. But Valeria replied anyway._

"_This is New Vienna. The whole world is pretty much a large city, except for some huge nature preserves. They only exist to balance out the environment though. Amazing, isn't it? I came here for graduate studies although I never wanted to stay." Valeria looked down over the city and shook her head. "It's beautiful but the people aren't."_

"_Oh." Axel knew what she meant. He hadn't traveled much but once he'd had to go on a school trip out of Midgar. The village he'd seen had been nice but the people hadn't wanted them there and had shown it plainly. He still wondered what the point of that had been. Although the petting zoo had been fun. "Right. So… what now?" Axel was very confused on what to do next. Valeria looked thoughtful._

"_Well, judging from how you feel I imagine the first step would be to see if Roxas wants to take it on the lamb with you." Axel blushed at her accurate reading of his emotional state. "Or you could turn yourself in. I don't know though. I'm a little worried they might put you in a tube or something."_

"_I wouldn't be at all surprised." Axel couldn't keep the smoldering resentment out of his voice. E-mail and video clips? What a lovely older brother he had. Would it really have been that much effort to actually come see him? Although Axel probably wouldn't have said something even if Reno had. But his older brother would at least have tried. "Although maybe they wouldn't. New Sephiroth and all that." There was a chance they wouldn't want to waste a valuable resource. But was Axel interested in being a resource? "Not just yet, although I might later… I do need to talk to Roxas, see what he wants." If Roxas wanted him to turn himself in maybe he would. "But how?" Valeria pursed her lips, thinking._

"_We-ell… I hate to be crude, but I have to ask. Have you two had buttsex yet?" She asked and Axel's eyes widened, momentarily speechless at the question._

"_No! Of course not!" Although he really, really wanted to. Roxas was just so sweet. But he was determined to do his rehab correctly so all they'd done so far was a bit of kissing. Valeria looked disappointed._

"_That's too bad. Not that I'm in favor of buttsex… I mean, ew, that is one HUGE difference between us, T'assa would NEVER stick anything in there… but sperm remain alive outside the body for a while. We could have used that to track." Axel vaguely wondered how she knew that and decided not to ask. Some things were a bit much. "I think you'll have to bushwack him at school."  
_

"_What! They'll have to be looking for me there." It was an obvious place. Valeria nodded._

"_Probably. If you're willing, you could let me and the AI handle it." Axel stared at her and she grimaced. "You'll have to LET me. If you fight me you'll break my grip right off. I'm not strong like this and connecting to someone that way is always fragile."_

"_You're good at sneaking into places?" Axel was suddenly aware that he wasn't sure what Valeria did for a living. "What were you anyway?" She grinned, eyes twinkling._

"_Oh well DUH Axel. My ship was a vampire." Axel looked confused and she explained. "The dreadnoughts carry them and let them out to do attacks on other vessels and planets. It's a bit hard to explain, but part of my duties could be to sneak onto a planet, abandon my ship and go do something dirty. I've never actually had to do that yet, but my training was pretty extensive. I can handle getting into your school without being seen. Just leave it to me."_

"_Hmm, alright." Axel didn't think he could handle that well. "And we'll figure out what to do after I speak to Roxas." Valeria nodded._

"_Sounds good! Well, you've slept long enough and I'm worried your toes are going to freeze. Let's get this show on the road." And the dream exploded in shards of color…_

* * *

Axel felt himself stand and let it happen. It felt very odd, like something else was covering his thoughts like a glove. He could distantly feel Valeria's joy at having a body again and a vague discomfort centered around… his genitalia? Oh, of course, she wouldn't have anything like a penis.

She didn't speak to him and he didn't try to reach her. This had a fragile feeling about it and Axel felt like even the slightest action on his part could break her concentration. Then he sensed her doing something with the nanites and felt an odd tingling. His hand reached up and pulled part of his hair into his view. Axel was startled to see it had changed into a mahogany color. Apparently the nanites and organic computer were capable of more than Valeria had told him. He made a note to ask her about that.

He found himself slipping out of the building and then hesitating before going to take public transit. Axel felt a question and without thought provided the answer. She needed to reach the monorail.

It took some time before Valeria figured it out and Axel could have done it faster but he didn't complain. He had a feeling that if she gave back control even for a moment her touch would be lost entirely and he didn't want that to happen just yet. Although he was glad it was so. He would have hated to be her puppet.

She scouted the school carefully and Axel could feel her spotting watchers both physical and mechanical. Finally she slipped in and ducked into a broom closet. When Roxas walked by she yanked him through the door in one smooth move and Axel felt her control abruptly vanish as he came face to face with Roxas.

"Axel?!? Wha – mff!" Axel pressed their lips together in an impulsive and very heartfelt kiss and felt the smaller boy melting against him. Hands pressed firmly against his chest and Axel finally pulled away, wiping off a thin line of saliva. Roxas' beautiful blue eyes were wide and shocked. "What… how are you here? What are you doing?" Roxas was hazy on what had happened but he knew that Axel's powers were common knowledge now. Tseng had questioned him thoroughly.

"Getting you out of here Roxy. I mean, if you want to come." Axel cringed internally at the thought that he might not. But it was definitely a possibility. Why should Roxas give up his life for him?

"I'd do anything for you." Axel felt his heart warm at that and smiled. "You're my best friend… my only friend, really. But how could I come with you? I still have this…" He gestured with disgust at the cuff on his foot. "And where are you going? Are you sure you don't just want to turn yourself in?" That was the path of least resistance. Axel hesitated, considering it. "And why is your hair changing colors?" Axel reached up and pulled his hair in front of his face. It was changing back to red.

"Oh. That's a relief, sort of." He didn't want to go through life with brown hair. "Let me see this ankle cuff." Axel examined it, trying to think of a way to undo it and consulting with the AI as he talked. "I got to talk to Valeria. She's being held in stasis and wants out, one way or another. Not sure what she plans to do then except eat peanut butter cookies." He was sure that was on the agenda. Valeria loved peanut butter. "Shit, I can't get this off!" Axel agonized over it for a long moment before hugging Roxas tightly. "I – I guess I'll have to turn myself in. I'm not giving you up."

"Axel…" Roxas returned the hug, closing his eyes for a moment before speaking. "Make love to me. Right now." He knew this was probably crazy and NOT a good idea but it was just something he had to do. Axel pulled back for a moment, surprised.

"Say what? In a broom closet?" Axel glanced at the door nervously. What if the janitors came by or someone heard them?

"I don't care. This might be our only chance. Take me _right now._" Roxas yanked the taller boy down for a deep, searching kiss. Axel pressed him against the wall and he could feel the lanky redhead pressed against every inch of his body. It felt so good and he tugged on Axel's pants, quickly unzipping them and growling as he tried to tug down Axel's boxers. Axel laughed shakily and helped before doing the same to him. Then he groaned as hot hands found his length and began to slowly stroke him. There was a sudden, surprising wetness and Axel blinked. "I brought lube." Roxas muttered as he spread it over Axel's cock and the redhead laughed again before kissing him.

"God, you're dirty Roxy. I love it." There was something terribly hot about making love in a broom closet, seconds away from revelation. Axel stole some of the lube from Roxas and started opening him up. They didn't have any condoms but Axel didn't care. Those lovely nanite systems of his would hunt down any diseases in record time anyway. Not that Roxas likely had anything. Roxas hissed then wiggled and pulled his hand away, making Axel blink. "That's not enough –" He started to protest but Roxas silenced him with a kiss.

"I like it to hurt a little." Roxas had gotten to love that pain when he was lost in the drugs and he still craved it. "It's enough. Do it now." Axel lifted Roxas and positioned him, the blonde's legs clamping to his waist as he slowly pressed inside. "_Ah!_" Axel groaned in pleasure as the warm heat enveloped him and Roxas threw back his head, moaning softly at the pleasant sting. Axel's abrupt entry really did hurt, stretching him too far too fast, but the ache was also good and got even better when Axel hit his prostate. "H-Harder!"

"Roxas." Axel breathed, kissing him as he began thrusting in and out roughly. Roxas clung to him like a burr, his insides so tight and hot. Axel gripped the smaller boy's hips tightly, vaguely aware he was probably leaving bruises. He didn't want to hurt Roxas, but he felt so good and the cute, primitive sounds the boy was making were incredibly hot. Their hips slapped together as Axel speeded the rhythm. Glancing down, he could see Roxas' cock bouncing against the blonde's belly and managed to free one hand from Roxas' hips so he could stroke him.

"_Ah!_" Roxas suddenly released with a cry that was an explosion of air. Axel followed a moment later, muffling his cry against Roxas' shoulder. The two boys stayed like that a moment before Axel gently pulled out and set Roxas on his feet. The blonde wobbled and Axel hugged his shoulders, looking down at the thin lines of white on his legs.

"Shit. Do you have any kleenex's?" They were both in a bit of a mess and Axel was sure Reno at least would realize what they had been up to. His brother was very gay. Roxas grinned and nodded, pulling out a small travel package and opening it. "Wow, you think of everything." Axel was impressed. But Roxas shook his head.

"Not really. I'm just getting a cold." Axel blinked and laughed at that, using one of the kleenex's to clean himself off and pulling up his pants. Roxas did the same, but using more kleenex's. "That's better. Axel, I have a cell. Do you want me to call Tseng?"

"Sure. And make it clear to him that I'm only going to do this if I can stay with you." A fierce note crept into Axel's voice and he gripped Roxas's shoulders, kissing his cheek. "I love you." There was a brief, surprised pause from Roxas before he took a deep breath and kissed Axel again.

"I love you too." He whispered and those heartfelt words made Axel feel like the happiest kid in the world as he stared into bright blue eyes. So many things could go wrong, they could even both die… but he'd die happy knowing he had this love in his life.

That was all that mattered.

* * *

Axel was gripping Roxas' shoulders, standing behind him when the Turks arrived. Reno immediately went to him and for a moment it looked like he would try to hug his younger brother but he held back at Axel's suspicious look.

"I'm sorry Axel. Really, I am." Axel blinked as he realized Reno did sound sorry. Not just that, he seemed really upset. "I've been going through those videos I got and they're all edited. Dolang did a pretty good job and he's going to rot in hell for this." Reno looked into the face of the brother he'd thought he'd known and swallowed. "Forgive me?"

"It's… It's okay, Reno." Axel managed to say, swallowing the lump in his throat. "There was no way you could know." Although he should have checked. But then, Reno was just his brother, not his father. Axel looked down at that thought. It was still his fault his father had left them alone. Valeria had told him it wasn't but what did she know? She was an alien.

"I still should have checked more." Reno shook his head and reached out to grip Axel's shoulder. "C'mon, we need to get you to Hojo for another checkup."

"Do I HAVE to?" Axel couldn't help but complain. "I hate Mr. Cold Hands!" Reno grinned at that and even Tseng smiled faintly as Elena laughed. No one was that fond of Professor Hojo.

"Sorry, you have to. We need to figure out what's going on with you. Don't worry, we won't let him keep you." Reno assured him. Axel sighed and Roxas suddenly butted in.

"I'm going with him. You agreed." He said, reminding them of their promise. Tseng nodded.

"It's fine Roxas. You'll come with him." They had spoken to Rufus and everyone had decided that keeping the boys together would help keep Axel calm. That was worth it. "Rufus wants to speak to you as well." Roxas paled at that. He was a bit afraid of his uncle and Axel looked intimidated.

"Rufus will be there?" That was a bit of a downer. Part of his plan was to free Valeria. That would get harder if Rufus was in the same building… although he didn't know that they were bringing him to the right place. He wouldn't know until he got to speak to Valeria again. But then, there was no rush. Valeria could always wait a while, even a year or two if necessary. She wasn't going to die if she hadn't so far.

"Yes, and so will Sephiroth." Reno said and Axel winced. That was just bad. He'd probably have to wait or he might end up fighting _Sephiroth!_ Axel didn't think he could win that one even for a moment, even if the AI system was a wild card. Maybe Valeria could but he wouldn't bet on that either. She'd have to be weak right after being healed by the mako, if it healed her at all. "Sorry Axel, but you really should get to know them. You'll probably end up serving under Sephiroth."

"Yeah." Axel couldn't help but sound unenthusiastic. All he knew about SOLDIER was that Dolang was working for them. It wasn't a stunning endorsement. Reno gripped his shoulder again, giving him a comforting squeeze and Axel met concerned blue eyes.

"I won't let anything bad happen to you Axel." Reno said and Axel nodded, keeping his doubts to himself.

He wanted to believe Reno but he'd learned not to believe those kinds of promises a long time ago.


	8. Professor Cold Hands

"Professor Cold Hands." Axel muttered to himself as Roxas snickered.

"What was that?" Hojo inquired and Axel winced.

"Nothing." He was trapped in a scanning machine. What exactly it was doing was completely beyond him. Professor Hojo had already given him a basic checkup and had found nothing unusual. Now he was digging deeper. Axel didn't doubt he'd find something on the brainscan although perhaps not much else.

He was correct. Hojo was muttering over the readings as Reno looked over his shoulder curiously and Rufus waited patiently. All the Turks were there, in fact, although Sephiroth was off doing something else. Axel was grateful for that. This was intimidating enough without the SOLDIER present.

"Can I move?" He said plaintively and scrambled out at Hojo's wave, phasing through the machine to make it easier. That got him a few hard looks but it wasn't like his powers were a secret anymore. Roxas gripped his hand and everyone waited patiently for a few more moments before Rufus finally spoke.

"Well?" He was very interested in this. If Axel's project had been a success it could be easily duplicated, and perhaps not with just children. And without the unfortunate effects of Jenova cells, although those were only beginning to become obvious. Not that he would mention that to Sephiroth. The 1st Class SOLDIER was aware that he wasn't normal but not of all the details. Hojo scratched his head, frowning at the print outs.

"There's tremendous mental activity." He finally said, tapping the brainscans. "His brain seems to be wired in a highly unusual way. I've never seen anything like it. If I didn't know better I would think he has tumors." Axel blinked at that. "But everything appears to be functional. These changes could explain his abilities… but there's no trace of mako in his system at all. I don't understand the rapid healing." Hojo was truly vexed by this. Axel considered his options for a moment. Should he explain what Valeria had told him? He could easily attribute everything to the AI.

"Um." Axel said tentatively. "It's nanites." Hojo turned to glare at him and Axel winced. He knew the Professor didn't like kids and considered him and Reno to be imbeciles. But Rufus just looked at him. The cool intelligence in his eyes was unnerving in a completely different way.

"Nanites?" Rufus inquired and Axel took a deep breath before explaining.

"I have an AI. It's an organic computer. That's what fought Dolang after he knocked me out." Reno frowned and exchanged a glance with Tseng as Hojo looked skeptical. That would explain how he'd fought a SOLDIER to a stand still. "It's not very smart but it's helpful. It showed me how to do stuff and explained what I have and how I got it."

"Tell us." Rufus ordered and Axel nodded.

"It's powered by a change in the mitochondria…" Axel quickly explained everything Valeria and the AI had told him. Hojo's skepticism faded into excitement and he smiled tightly, a gleam in his eyes.

"That's far too involved for the imagination of a child." Hojo knew Axel was a crappy student. Even granting him a great deal of imagination, this was too scientifically elaborate for Axel to have come up with out of nothing. "Fascinating. It seems I'll have to do a full DNA scan." Hojo suddenly frowned. "I don't have any uncontaminated samples. Rufus, I'm going to need comparison samples from his brothers and father." Reno started at that and Rufus nodded. Axel blinked.

"Dad? But he's… not here." He said weakly. The last person in the world he wanted to see again was his father. His memories of him weren't bad, exactly, but they ended abruptly at five. He only remembered what his father looked like because of a few pictures in the house. Axel didn't want to know him anymore. Reno gave him a sympathetic look. He knew exactly what Axel was thinking.

"We can send some lackeys to get samples from him." Hojo said dismissively and Axel felt relieved. Knowing Hojo those lackeys wouldn't tell his father a thing about what was going on and that was how he liked it. Although Axel wondered if Reno had let his father know. It was hard to say. He was still a minor, technically, but Reno had no more use for their father than he did.

"This could take a while. Roxas, you need to go back to school." Axel looked at Rufus, startled, as Roxas scowled.

"No." He snapped back, taking Axel's hand and making the older boy blush. Reno blinked and suddenly gave them both a startled look. "I'm staying with Axel. Get a tutor for us both if you want." Blue eyes met blue and it reminded Axel of a clash of glaciers. It was easy to tell Roxas and Rufus were related. Tseng cleared his throat.

"That might not be a bad idea. Axel is far behind and private lessons couldn't hurt Roxas." Rufus frowned and considered it before Reno spoke up.

"Yeah, and it would help Axel. You know, feel better about being here." Normally Hojo and the others wouldn't have cared much about Axel's comfort but the phasing through walls could be a problem. And he was Reno's brother so Hojo couldn't just tube him like most experiments. He'd already suggested it and been firmly vetoed.

"Very well. Could you arrange that Tseng?" Tseng nodded and moved off to place a few calls. Finding a tutor for the boys with enough security clearance to be down here might be interesting.

The door to the room opened and Sephiroth walked in. Behind him was Zack and a very diffident Cloud, the latter holding a tray of coffee cups. Axel swallowed and had to resist the urge to phase through the floor. Sephiroth scared him, although he wasn't sure why. Something just didn't feel quite right about the other man.

"So what's the word?" Sephiroth asked and Reno gave him a quick recap, along with the tutor idea. Sephiroth looked a touch startled, then smiled. "I know the perfect person. Zack? Do you think you could handle it?"

"Sure, if you give me an idea of where they are. But for how long?" Zack grinned, not intimidated by Sephiroth or Rufus in the least. "I wouldn't mind teaching them but I'm supposed to be showing Cloud the ropes. He didn't join up to revisit high school." Cloud blushed but it was nothing but the truth. His grades had been good enough for SOLDIER but not spectacular.

"We can find other tutors to spell you out. But this is important." Sephiroth had seen some of Axel's powers at work and he thought they were impressive. Particularly since there was nothing magical about them. "And you're an excellent combat instructor as well. You should get him started on that." Axel looked a bit daunted and Sephiroth smiled at him. "Don't worry. Zack will go easy on you." Axel blinked as he realized the silver haired man was trying to reassure him and tentatively smiled back.

"Okay. I'll do my best." Axel wondered why Sephiroth bothered him so much. He really wasn't bad, just far above him… but the same was true of Rufus. Why did Sephiroth make him so uneasy? His AI politely coughed. "What?" He mumbled to it as the adults talked.

_Sephiroth posses a highly unusual odor and anomalous life signs. You are experiencing an instinctive aversion although you may eventually acclimatize. _Axel blinked at that and sampled the air. He was unaware of it… he had nothing to compare it to… but his sense of smell was many times more acute than normal. Now that the AI had brought his attention to it Sephiroth DID smell strange. His cologne was partly masking it but the underlying scent was not right. Not bad, exactly, but almost… sick?

"Are you okay?" Axel suddenly asked the SOLDIER who looked very surprised by the question.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Sephiroth asked curiously. Axel hesitated, then sniffed the air again. He really wasn't imagining it.

"You smell… ill? I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be offensive." He said quickly and Sephiroth frowned. Hojo broke in, irritated.

"He was given a checkup just last month." Then the scientist frowned as he considered something. "Wait, you can smell him? How can you smell him from over there?" Axel blinked.

"Can't everybody?" He answered without thinking and received plenty of hard looks. "I mean… he's wearing that cologne my band teacher used to wear." Axel concentrated on isolating scents for a moment. "Rufus is wearing that stuff I bought once, it came in a green bottle… Madora? I don't remember. Cloud and Zack ate curry for lunch." That was overwhelming everything else on them. Zack started as Sephiroth looked at him.

"We did." He admitted. "That's amazing." Zack wouldn't have believed anyone could smell his lunch from across the room, even if it was curry.

"Extreme nasal acuity…" Hojo made a note and stopped with a frown. "I'll have to give you another checkup." Sephiroth looked very unenthusiastic and Axel felt bad for mentioning it. "Oh, that reminds me. There's an experiment I want to do right now. I'll need a bit of your blood."

"Why?" Sephiroth asked, not liking that. But Hojo just fixed him with a hard look and the SOLDIER gave in with a grumble. Soon there was a Petri dish of Sephiroth's blood waiting and Hojo motioned Axel over peremptorily. Axel went reluctantly. The smell was stronger now.

"Now, a bit of yours." Hojo carefully took a sample then mixed the bloods together. Everyone watched curiously but Axel noticed that Sephiroth had a particular intensity. The blood suddenly began to bubble and Axel blinked. The bubbling stopped almost as soon as it had started but then little brown bits began floating in the mixture. "Peculiar."

"What happened?" Sephiroth demanded as Professor Hojo began looking at the mixture through a microscope.

"I don't know. I'll have to analyze. Get out of here, all of you, I have work to do." Hojo had plenty of raw materials to analyze at the moment. "Rufus, please send me the samples from Reno and the others when you have them." Rufus nodded. They all left the room and Zack quickly took charge of the two youngsters as Rufus and the others went to discuss arcane, adult things. Sephiroth tagged along as well, for some reason.

"Well kids, I've stayed here before and I'm told you're both going to be staying together in the A wing. Let me show you." Zack said cheerfully. Axel nodded back, smiling. He liked Zack already and Cloud seemed nice too. The only one making him uneasy now was Sephiroth and that was partly due to the smell and partly due to the interest he could sense from the SOLDIER. Did Sephiroth want something from him now?

"Nice!" Axel looked over the small quarters approvingly. To him it was pretty spacious and there were bunk beds, although Axel doubted they'd be using both of them. Zack and Cloud both looked a bit surprised at his pleasure but Roxas wasn't. Compared to how Axel usually lived this tiny, almost empty room was a paradise. "Dibs on the top bunk." Axel leapt onto it easily, bypassing the ladder and catching himself neatly on the wooden edge. Roxas snorted.

"As if you'll need it!" He didn't care if the SOLDIERS knew what he and Axel were up to. It wasn't like they were going to be able to hide it anyway, Axel was far too open with his feelings. Cloud choked as Zack looked startled and Sephiroth lifted his eyebrows with a small smile. That explained why the children had refused to be parted.

"What exactly do I smell like to you?" Sephiroth suddenly asked and Axel blinked, hopping down off the bed.

"Like, uh…" Axel struggled to think of a comparison. "Kind of like bread." Sephiroth blinked at that.

"Bread?" He'd almost been dreading the answer but he hadn't expected that. Axel nodded and sampled the scent again. It was harder with Cloud and Zack's curry interfering but Sephiroth was closer.

"Kind of like moldy bread." Axel suddenly grinned. "But on the plus side, I'm sure you don't have a yeast infection!" Roxas slapped him upside the head. "Ow, Roxy!" Axel rubbed his head as Sephiroth barked a laugh.

"Reassuring. Well, I'm sure you'll fit in here. I might give you a few lessons myself." Sephiroth left then, leaving the rest of the tour to Zack and Cloud. Axel was a touch relieved although not as much as he would have been before. Sephiroth seemed like a good enough person… he just smelled funny. Axel vaguely wondered what was causing that and hoped it could be fixed. It really didn't smell healthy.

But that would be out of Hojo, not him. He put it out of his mind for the rest of the day. He had plenty things to learn.

* * *

"_Bread? That's downright odd." Valeria was eating some very thin slices of a pot roast with Axel. Axel blinked as he chewed on the meat. It was dense, almost impossibly dense yet tender. "I've never smelled anything like that. Although I'm not so old as that."_

"_Hm?" Axel realized he didn't know Valeria's age although she did feel quite young to him. "How old are you?"_

"_Thirty-six." Valeria answered promptly and Axel thought nothing of it. Her race was probably longer lived than humans. "Not old at all. I missed the great war with the Greenies and then the rest of it, the Dagger Wars and Matthias the Cruel. Only minor actions for me." Valeria seemed disappointed by the lack of mayhem and Axel laughed. "Pfft! I'm a vampire pilot, I should be sucking blood!"_

"_Or just dying." He pointed out and Valeria sighed and nodded. The little vampire ships were meant to swarm and often suffered high casualties. But that was why the pilots were so skilled. They had to be to survive. "So are we anywhere near you?"_

"_Yes, you're right on top of me." Valeria sounded pleased with that and Axel smiled. "But I think we should wait a bit. Right now there's too many heavy hitters right on top of you. Besides, you're just a child… you can grow up a bit and learn how to fight before we escape." _

"_Valeria?" Axel waited until she looked up from her roast. "What are we going to do when we escape?" That question had been worrying him for some time. What plan did she have after that? Valeria looked thoughtful for a moment._

"_We-ell… that's the question. If I die I think you should just pretend you were under my control or something. Then things will go back to normal for you. But if I live… Axel, my plan is to find my ship. It's probably been repairing itself all the time I've been in stasis." Valeria finished her roast and sat back with a sigh. "This stuff from Hades is a bit hard on the digestion, so filling."_

"_What is it exactly? And if your ship is working what are you going to do?" Axel asked. She couldn't go back to her universe. Could she? Valeria shrugged._

"_The food? It's a Hades Dino steak. And damnfino. See if the ship got good readings and if it did, redline the drive and try to punch a way home. If it didn't things get stickier. Hang around and kiss Rufus' ass, maybe." Axel choked at that and Valeria flashed him a grin. "Fortunately he's got a nice ass."_

"_Valeria!" Axel laughed at that. "Like you care about his ass."_

"_True, he's sadly deficient in fronds and his hair is far too thin." Valeria said regretfully as Axel laughed again. "The problem with sticking around is that he'll probably insist on using me to make more kids like you."_

"_Is that bad?" As far as Axel could see the nanite systems had no downsides at all. Valeria frowned, hesitating._

"_Yes… it is bad. Because he'd just be stealing technology he doesn't understand. What if something ever went wrong? The nanite systems can be reprogrammed and they can fall to viruses, although you don't have the technology to make anything that would penetrate them. And stuff like that doesn't occur naturally. So maybe you'd be fine but if you weren't what could you do about it?" Valeria waved her knife as she thought out loud. "And you're so much stronger and faster than normal people and have huge psi powers. But this change will only work in fetuses… I dunno. It just doesn't seem right to me."_

"_Well, we'll still get old and die right?" Axel said jokingly and ate a bit more of his roast. Then he looked up, catching Valeria staring at him wide-eyed. "Valeria?"_

"_Get old?" She echoed his words then cursed. "Oh excrement! I forgot!"_

"_Forgot what?" Axel echoed, suddenly feeling a chill. Valeria chewed her lip for a moment before answering._

"_I forgot that you people get old. We… the nanites do genetic modifications and constant housekeeping. We conquered aging a long time ago Axel." Axel felt faint as he met concerned, alien eyes. "I'm immortal and so are you. Oh no… I can't let them use me. A bunch of immortals? That could be a disaster."_

"_But Roxas will get old! What can I do?" Axel demanded and reached for her but the dream shattered into a thousand sparks…_


	9. Blow Jobs Are Fun

Hojo examined the Petri dish thoughtfully.

He hadn't known what to expect when he mixed Sephiroth's blood with Axel's. The SOLDIER was ignorant of the Jenova cells he carried so it had been a slight risk but he'd been too curious. Axel's description of the AI and nanites had raised interesting questions.

Some of them appeared to be answered although not in the way he would have wished. The Petri dish was dead. Nothing but a solution of plasma and burst cells. It seemed the nanites had reacted violently to the Jenova cells and they had returned the favor. He could find no living nanites or Jenova cells.

"Must keep the two breeds absolutely separate." Hojo had no idea what would happen if someone with Jenova cells was injected with the nanite solution but he suspected it would be like a disease. Jenova would triumph unless… unless mako was used to power the nanites? But that would empower the Jenova cells as well. "Hmm." Professor Hojo made a mental note to find a truly expendable subject to experiment on. Then he smiled thinly. There was one SOLDIER currently being held in solitary confinement, as a precursor to whatever Rufus and Reno decided to do with him.

Perhaps he could request Dolang's 'help' with his experiment.

* * *

"Axel, are you okay?" Roxas said, concerned, as they ate breakfast. Axel managed a weak smile.

"I'm fine." He actually wasn't fine at all but what could he say to Roxas? Hey, I'm immortal? Axel had no idea what to do about it and didn't want to trouble Roxas until he did. Roxas frowned and started to say something but Zack interrupted brightly.

"Okay! We're going to begin the day with some combat exercises. I'll be teaching you, Axel, while Cloud helps Roxas." Cloud nodded confidently. He was sure he could teach the basics to Roxas, although he wasn't actually a trainer. Axel eyed Zack worriedly as the black haired man gave him a friendly smile. "Can you make sure your AI isn't taking over? It won't be worth much if I'm not fighting you." Zack was sure Axel would benefit from learning himself and the redhead nodded.

"That's not a problem. It only takes over like that if my life is in danger. It's pretty quiet most of the time." Axel was grateful for that and thought the AI had been designed that way. It was meant to be an unobtrusive helper.

Axel got plenty of bruises proving his lack of competence, but he found to his surprise that he caught on very quickly. Zack was pleased with his quick reflexes, strength and accuracy. Axel had a feeling that his spatial acuity had a lot to do with it. It was easy for him to tell exactly where everything was and where it would be. He still had a ton to learn, though, and he was tired and sore when they were done. Roxas actually fared better. He'd learned to fight on the streets and Cloud was able to build from that knowledge.

"Now, I've gotten some stuff from your school." Zack said as he brought them to a different room. It was meant to be a break room but it had been changed to an informal classroom. Axel eyed the vending machine with longing but didn't ask for anything. "I haven't done high school work for a while myself, but I think I remember this." Actually Zack was underestimating his own abilities. He was able to help Axel with the math problems very well and Axel felt like he'd learned more in one tutoring session than he had with weeks of school classes. But then, he'd never let the teacher know he didn't understand. He'd just sat in the back of the class and failed quietly. Zack was making sure he was doing his work and helping him when he didn't get it.

"Ugh, math. Can we do some art?" Axel asked plaintively. He really wanted to draw something. Zack laughed and shook his head.

"Sorry, I can't draw worth spit. But I'll ask about getting you some tutors for that." Surely someone with enough security clearance could spend time tutoring Axel in his artwork. "You draw? Can I see?" Axel's books had been delivered, the ones that had survived his fight with Dolang. That had included his notebook. Axel nodded and passed it over. Zack flipped through the notebook, seeing scenes of life in Midgar mostly. As well as pictures of Roxas, Demyx and other friends… "What is this?" Zack stopped suddenly, staring, and Axel winced. He'd completely forgotten about the picture he'd drawn of Valeria.

"Just an idea of mine I got from a video game. Neat, huh?" Axel said brightly and Zack nodded, a bit bemused. The strange woman in the picture was eating a tamale and her face had been painted to look like a skull. He couldn't know that Valeria had given Axel a fun dream about the Day of the Dead celebrations on the world she considered home, the joint Terran/T'assa colony of Piquant. T'assa didn't believe in the Day of the Dead but they did most emphatically believe in parties. Any excuse for a party would do.

"It's different." Zack said diplomatically. He didn't think much in the picture made sense although it was extremely detailed and creative. The hair was particularly unusual and Zack had a hard time figuring out what it was supposed to be. Beads? Finally he gave up and handed back the notebook. "Your art looks very good to me although I wouldn't really know. Keep it up." It almost made him regretful, that they were taking someone so talented and teaching him to fight and kill. But then, it was hard to make a living on art. "Well, let me show you what fun you can have here." He thought they were full up on lessons for the day. Axel brightened and Roxas looked relieved. He'd been afraid that staying here would be very boring.

It probably would get boring after a while but as it turned out there was plenty to do. There was a break room equipped with computers and video games as well as a pool table. And while they were gone someone had set up a TV in their room with unlimited pay per view movies. There were no books, but Zack promised to arrange for some after Roxas asked. Axel didn't much care for recreational reading but the blonde boy would die without books around.

"Roxy…" Axel swallowed and hesitated, wondering what to say. They were alone now in the break room. "We – we might have a problem." Roxas looked up from a video game with a frown.

"What kind of problem?" Axel sighed and decided to just get it over with. It was better that Roxas knew anyway.

"Valeria says I'm not going to age." He stated and Roxas stared at him, shocked. "At all. That's one of the huge things the nanite systems do, stopping aging. I don't know what to do about it." In a way it was a great thing. Axel hadn't been looking forward to getting grey hair and wrinkles. But Roxas still would and that was horrible. "Valeria wants to get her ship. Maybe we can use it to go to her world… would you want to come?" It would truly be a step into the unknown. But surely Valeria's universe could give Roxas a nanite system. Valeria had mentioned that what Hojo had done had been a bizarre bastardization of the usual process.

"Of course!" Roxas sounded miffed at him and Axel blinked. "I hate this place. I'd love to see a universe full of aliens and super technology. Why would I want to stay here?" Axel had been thinking of how scary it was to jump into the unknown but Roxas was approaching it from an entirely different angle. This time he was the adventurous one, itching to see something new and fun. Axel tossed his head back with a laugh.

"Okay! It's a plan. I'll have to check with Valeria and make sure they could give you a system." He was sure they could though. Then he and Roxas could be together forever. Or until they got heartily sick of each other which he vaguely supposed could happen. It was hard to imagine now but after a thousand years things could change. But at least this way they would have the chance to find out.

"Also ask her when she wants to do this." Roxas advised him and Axel nodded with a grin. "We'll need to start working out where she's being held."

"Yeah. I'm going to start having insomnia." Axel reflected ruefully that he wouldn't be getting much sleep. But he was used to it. "I'll wander around at night and see what I can find." He was very good at spotting cameras now, thanks to Valeria's help. And the phasing would let him go places that should have been closed to him. He'd find the alien eventually. But for now… Axel grinned and pounced Roxas from behind, making the blonde boy squeak. "Why don't we do something else first?" He murmured, nibbling Roxas' earlobe. Roxas laughed and shut off the game, turning to kiss him.

"Strange, that usually puts me to sleep." He murmured and stood. "Let's go to our room though." He was pretty sure Reno and Sephiroth had both figured out their relationship but it would be better not to shove everyone's faces into it. Rufus could still decide to part them although if he did there would be much howling. Axel nodded and followed Roxas, admiring his butt a bit on the way. Roxas looked wonderful in tight jeans.

Soon they were on the bottom bunk bead, kissing and petting a bit. Axel paused for a moment, placing a hand beside Roxas' head. Roxas looked up at him, a bit confused, his fingers tangled in Axel's shirt. Bright green eyes met blue.

"You know I love you, right?" Axel suddenly said and Roxas swallowed. Love… was not something that had been part of his life until just recently. But it hadn't been part of Axel's either. Did he love the redhead? Could his scarred heart love anyone at all? The answer was easy to find.

"I love you too." Roxas said softly and Axel smiled slowly before kissing him again. Warm lips teased him and warmer hands began stripping away his clothing. Roxas moaned, tossing his head back as Axel moved down his chest and gently caught a rosebud nipple in his mouth, sucking the sensitive flesh for a moment before he moved down further. Axel smiled as he tugged on Roxas' pants, opening them to free the hard length inside.

"I can tell!" He said teasingly as he breathed on Roxas' erection, making the smaller boy gasp. Axel slowly licked him and had to block out a brief flashback to the last time he'd done this. But Roxas smelled and tasted good, nothing like that man. Axel began to slowly lick Roxas like his penis was the sweetest, tastiest ice cream cone in the world. He found one particular spot that made Roxas gasp and stopped to tease it, very gently scraping with his teeth. Axel slid down Roxas pants a bit more and reached in to cup his balls, giving them feather light touches and feeling Roxas' reaction. Axel finally took Roxas in his mouth, gliding his teeth over the blonde boys' throbbing erection. Roxas moaned loudly at the wonderful sensation then gasped sharply as Axel ran the head of his penis over his molars. It could have hurt but Axel was so gentle that it felt wonderful…

"Axel, I can't – can't…" Roxas moaned in disappointment as Axel let go of him with a small pop. But then Axel suddenly darted his tongue in, swirling it around his tip as he gave him a stroke with one hand. "AH!" The combination of sensations was too much and Roxas went over the edge, letting go.

"Oops." Axel realized a moment later that he hadn't thought that out very well and Roxas couldn't help but laugh. His come had ricocheted off Axel's tongue and gone all over the place. "Still have those kleenex's? And where's the lube?" They would be needing that. Roxas nodded and pointed over to the desk.

"Top drawer." Axel grinned and went to find it, shedding his own clothing along the way. It only took a few moments to get Roxas cleaned up and the blonde was already feeling frisky again. They were both young and could easily do it twice. Roxas gripped Axel's shoulders tightly as the redhead reached behind him, carefully opening him up.

"Axel." Roxas kissed his lover passionately, tasting himself on the older boys' lips. It stung a little but the sting was so good, just what he wanted and it got better as Axel found his prostate. "Anytime…" He didn't want Axel to make things too smooth. He wanted that edge. Axel pulled his hand away and slowly went inside, making Roxas gasp and cling to him like a limpet. Axel groaned heavily at the tight wet heat surrounding him, gripping him so perfectly. He began to slowly thrust and Roxas moaned before nipping his shoulder. "F – Faster!"

"Your wish… is my command…" Axel grinned and speeded his thrusts, taking Roxas in a quick, almost harsh rhythm. The younger boy was moaning in pleasure and Axel licked away a bit of sweat from his sweet skin. Bright blue eyes met green again and Axel felt the connection between them so intensely. This was more than just sex, it was love… Axel reached down to stroke Roxas in time with his thrusts, trying to hit his prostate every time. He wanted this to be good for the blonde. Suddenly Roxas tightened around him and Axel gasped raggedly, taken right to the edge. He felt Roxas throbbing in his hand and gave him a squeeze. The blonde released with a scream, his come splattering them both as Axel came a moment later. They both lay together, exhausted and pleased. "Love you Roxy." Axel whispered in his lover's ear and smiled as he felt Roxas curl up beside him.

"Love you too." Roxas whispered and Axel gently kissed him on the forehead before closing his eyes. He was just too tired to 'sleepwalk'.

There would always be time for that tomorrow.

* * *

_Axel was puzzled by his surroundings. He was on some kind of ship but Valeria was nowhere to be found. The ship itself was very pleasant, with wide corridors and beige and brown colors with occasional writings and strange cross hatching on a few walls. Axel wasn't sure what that signified but he knew he was lost. And there was no one around at all. He was starting to get seriously worried when he finally came to a door and somehow knew Valeria was behind it._

"_Valeria?" Axel touched the door and it opened. He frowned as he heard something odd and slipped into the room. Blinking, he realized that Valeria was in the bedroom. He peeked inside and stared. Valeria was kneeling on her bed and there was another T'assa behind her. Axel couldn't see her face since it was buried in Valeria's back. Her fronds were obscuring any view and for a moment Axel couldn't figure out what was going on… until Valeria made a strange, hissing sound and arched. "OH!" Horrified and amused, Axel quickly backed away and the door automatically shut. "Well damn." He hadn't meant to intrude on an alien wet dream, and he was sure that was what this was. "Hmm." Going over to the slot in the wall that Valeria had explained was a replicator, he quietly requested peanut butter cookies. He was sure Valeria would want some when she was done._

"_Huh?" Valeria and the other T'assa stepped out of the room and stared at him, shocked and surprised. Then Valeria blinked and the second T'assa melted away as she rubbed her head. "Oh damn! I really thought… I was back here…" For a moment Valeria looked so sad that Axel was speechless. He'd never seen that kind of emotion from her before. Valeria was usually so happy go lucky. But then the moment passed and she sat down beside him with a sigh. She was entirely naked but didn't seem to care and Axel could see why. Her chest was as flat as a boys and she looked a bit like a Barbie doll between the legs. There was nothing to hide. "Sorry about that. That's a touch embarrassing."_

"_I can imagine. So I know how to give an alien blow job now, hey?" Axel asked cheerfully as Valeria growled and playfully swiped at him. He avoided it easily and tossed her a cookie. She bit into it with relish._

"_I suppose, but don't think you're going to!" She retorted and Axel laughed. He liked her well enough but definitely wasn't into her that way._

"_Roxas is the only one for me. Besides, you're lacking a penis." Axel almost regretted that comment as Valeria leered at him playfully._

"_Penises are fun. They look so silly and do such interesting tricks… heh. Anyway. I doubt you're here to talk about penises." Valeria's smile vanished and she continued more seriously. "I'm sorry I freaked you out yesterday." She could see she'd broken the news to him badly. Axel waved it off._

"_It's not important. The real question is, if we get you home and come with you, could your people give Roxas a nanite system?" Axel swallowed hard. "I – I don't want to live without him." Valeria nodded immediately._

"_We definitely could, if things are still going well." Valeria frowned. "I don't know what we'll find when we get back. I'm not sure how long has passed and even if we're technically immortal, people die and things change. We'll just have to see… if we can get back at all. If not, I don't know. Maybe a full mako bath would let the nanites do their thing even to an adult." Axel winced at the thought._

"_But it might drive Roxas around the bend." He pointed out. He knew about mako toxicity. Valeria nodded somberly._

"_I know. We should try the spaceship first. We can always surrender to Rufus and co. if it doesn't work." Valeria paused her eating for a moment. "I guess that means we can't kill anyone escaping or they might be all ticked." Axel blinked and laughed._

"_Imagine, not killing anyone! Whatever shall you do?" He teased her and she laughed. They both knew that Valeria liked to fight. It was her nature._

"_I suppose I'll survive." Valeria snapped her fingers and she was clothed in a light purple jumpsuit. Like all of her clothing, it was cut to keep her fronds free. "I think you've got a handle on things. Was there anything else you wanted to ask me?" Axel thought about it and shook his head. He knew what to do. "In that case, let's do something silly!" A covered dish suddenly appeared on the table and Valeria grinned as she lifted the cover free. Axel blinked at the chocolate cake inside. "Death by Chocolate! Let's see who can eat more. GO!" Axel laughed as he tried the Death by Chocolate cake. It was absolutely delicious and he vaguely wondered if T'assa always had dreams this vivid, or if it was just because of the way they were connecting. He really couldn't tell._

_Either way, he was going to enjoy it._


	10. FIGHT!

Axel paused as he stepped onto the roof. Someone was already there. Someone familiar.

"Oh!" Axel immediately started to back away. Sephiroth probably didn't want to be disturbed and even if he wouldn't mind, Axel didn't have the temerity to find out. But the SOLDIER's head had turned and glowing green eyes had caught him effortlessly.

"Axel." Axel hesitated a moment. Sephiroth sounded tired, his silver hair blowing in the wind. "Please, join me?"

"Uh, okay." Axel wasn't about to refuse. He walked up and took a seat beside the older man, looking out over the city. It was beautiful at night, full of blinking lights. "Couldn't sleep?" Sephiroth didn't respond for a moment, then just nodded. "I'm a bit surprised you're still here." Axel ventured. He'd have expected the 1st Class SOLDIER to be out doing something rather than hanging around the facility. Sephiroth had been watching their progress with Zack and Cloud and practicing with Zack, but he seemed generally discontent.

"So am I." Sephiroth really did sound unhappy, but then he managed a thin smile. "Hojo demanded I stay, and as there's nothing really pressing for me to do elsewhere Rufus decided to honor his request."

"Professor Cold Hands." Axel said in disgust and Sephiroth laughed then sobered a bit.

"I agree, but don't say that where he can hear you. Hojo can be vengeful." Axel just shook his head. He was sure Sephiroth was right but was equally sure that Hojo would simply dismiss anything he said as the maunderings of a child. Professor Hojo clearly had no patience or regard for children at all. "…Angeal and Genesis will be arriving soon." Sephiroth said and Axel blinked.

"Really? Why?" He frowned. "Does Hojo want me to sniff them?" For the last week Hojo had been getting him to smell various substances and tell him what they were. It had turned out his sense of smell was freakishly accurate. And if he asked the AI it could do very detailed analysis, even better when he tasted something. It would also pick up poisons, warn him and induce nausea if he swallowed them anyway. Axel grimaced to himself as he thought about the tests that had determined that. The AI had managed to sound slightly peeved, which was a pretty neat trick from a machine.

"I think so. He hasn't told me his reasoning. I am curious about what we might find out." Axel nodded. He was curious too now. He knew from his brief conversations with Sephiroth that the silver haired man didn't know anything about why he was different from most people. "Have you ever wondered where your nanites and AI came from?" Sephiroth asked and unfortunately he turned his head just as he spoke. Green eyes narrowed as he caught Axel's unguarded expression. "Or do you already know?"

"Uh." Axel belatedly remembered that Sephiroth was a lot smarter than him. If he hadn't gotten good grades it had probably been a motivation problem. "I do." Axel admitted. He didn't think he could lie convincingly now anyway. "But don't tell Hojo?"

"I'm not about to tell him anything he doesn't need to know." Sephiroth sounded bitter and Axel wondered why. Although Professor Cold Hands could have done any number of things. "Tell me how." Axel hesitated a moment but Sephiroth sounded… insistent. Almost obsessed, strangely.

"They took the nanites from an alien. She got here by some bizarre accident and crash landed. The nanites only worked on me because they infused them with mako first." Axel explained and Sephiroth pursed his lips, thinking.

"An alien. But I have something else. I wonder what it could be?" Sephiroth knew that his origins were not the same as Axel's but he wasn't normal. There had to be something. "I wonder if there could have been a second alien." It was an idea. Axel scratched his head.

"Maybe, but if there was it wouldn't have anything to do with mine. The nanite system doesn't recognize you at all." The nanite system was still puzzling over Sephiroth's vital signs and had drawn no conclusions at all except that the whole thing was very troubling. The AI didn't have a tone as such but it managed to sound vaguely worried.

"Hm, yes. Our abilities are completely different." They'd already established that while Axel had some talent for magic, it was about what could be expected from any youngster. The AI was completely useless for that and actually often highjacked Axel's attempts to use magic and substituted his psi abilities. Those were incredible but completely unlike anything Sephiroth could do. They sat in silence for a moment, thinking their own thoughts. Then Sephiroth sighed. "We should try to sleep." Sephiroth stood, gazing over the city for a moment before turning away.

"Yeah." For a moment Axel almost felt bad for the SOLDIER. Now that it was awake and helping him his AI could slip him into sleep almost on command, and it even regulated the type of sleep to ensure that he'd awaken refreshed. He'd never had insomnia in his life. "Good night." Axel clambered to his feet as Sephiroth began walking down the stairs.

"Good night."

* * *

"_They took the nanites from an alien. She got here by some bizarre accident and crash landed. The nanites only worked on me because they infused them with mako first."_

Hojo scowled as he listened to the recording. Sephiroth was not aware of it but a very, very close watch was being kept on him. The watch on Axel had not been nearly as comprehensive.

"An oversight." Hojo cursed himself for a moment. But how could he have known that Axel knew the truth? Frowning, he paced. Did it really matter that the redhead knew? And was he aware that the primary subject was in the basement of this very facility? He quickly decided he couldn't chance it. The primary subject needed to be moved. But he'd have to request permission from Rufus. A small smile crossed Professor Hojo's face.

Angeal and Genesis would be here soon. That would be the perfect time for the move. If three 1st Class SOLDIERS couldn't prevent any nonsense, nothing could.

* * *

"So where is this child you want us to meet?" Angeal smiled as Genesis read a book. Sephiroth had to resist the temptation to shut it for him.

"He's more than an ordinary child. You'll see." Sephiroth hadn't been able to give them much information in non-secure areas. Besides, Genesis was being annoying. He was rather looking forward to their reactions. "Zack is training him at the moment." It would be the perfect time to observe him. Axel's grasp on his abilities and the help his AI could offer had been increasing with his skill. They had given up teaching him magic, realizing that it was trying to force a square peg into a round hole. Instead, he was making use of the psi abilities.

It had turned out the phasing wasn't that useful in actual combat unless you intended to run away. It was too easy for the other person to switch to an electrical or magic based attack. But the telekinesis and pyrokinesis was highly useful. As they stepped into the training room Angeal stared and even Genesis was distracted from his book.

"What is that boy doing?" Angeal asked uncertainly. Axel was dancing through the air, flying easily and annoying Zack. Axel tucked into a ball to avoid an ice strike and replied with fire before following the strike, his sword at the ready. The spells and fire were all carefully downtuned to avoid any serious injuries but a hit would still hurt. The swords were blunted as well but what followed looked very much like two SOLDIERS practicing. "That wasn't magic." Angeal and Genesis could both detect magic and while Zack's spell had been obvious they hadn't gotten a thing from Axel. Sephiroth smiled, amused.

"No, it wasn't." He agreed and Genesis shot him a dark look as Angeal just looked at him patiently, waiting for an explanation. But that was when the smell caught up with Axel.

"HHHHCHEW!" The violent sneeze rocked the boy and sent him to his knees. Zack had to pull his strike to avoid hurting him. Axel sneezed violently several more times before managing to speak, his eyes and nose watering. "Argh! Moldy… bread… so penetrating…" Axel finally resorted to pinching his nose as Sephiroth's smile faded.

"So. More moldy bread." He wasn't really surprised. But Axel lurched to his feet and pressed a hand over his temple before looking around sharply.

"Sephiroth?" He cautiously stepped over and swallowed. "Angeal and Genesis?" He didn't really know what they looked like but who else could it be? And they all smelled like moldy bread. If anything, they were worse, or maybe it was just all three of them together in one area.

"Sephiroth, explain this." Genesis sounded very impatient but the other man was watching Axel's expression and could see the distraction there.

"What is the AI saying?" He asked sharply and Axel hesitated. "Axel!" Sephiroth's glare could have removed the finish from furniture and Axel winced. The SOLDIER might have to tolerate Hojo holding out on him but he wasn't going to take it from a child.

"It's, it's wigging out a little." Axel said lamely. "It keeps talking about dark energy and… let me let it talk to you." If Hojo didn't like it, tough crap. Axel's voice changed to a smooth, even tone without any vestige of inflection. It was a very inhuman kind of voice, with no arc or penumbra.

"Anomalous life signs have been tentatively identified. Preliminary hypothesis: Dark energy infection. Suggest immediate quarantine and treatment to effect removal of infestation. " Sephiroth stared as Angeal and Genesis exchanged a glance. Angeal was just confused but Genesis was confused and unhappy. He didn't like the sound of that.

"What is dark energy?" Sephiroth asked carefully. Axel blinked as the AI kept speaking.

"A naturally occurring phenomenon. Dark energy is anti-life. It is a counterpoint to light energy but where light energy cannot be gathered in one place dark energy naturally clumps. In space this causes 'sargasso' areas that must be avoided. Dark energy does not normally contaminate living creatures but when it does it takes its most dangerous form. Dark energy will continue to gather and distort living patterns. Unless stasis can be achieved instability and social disorder are inevitable." Axel forced the AI to stop talking before it detailed the past instances of dark energy. The information it was giving him was probably not something Sephiroth needed to hear because it chillingly reminded him of several of the SOLDIERS who'd gone insane already. And other parts were exceedingly grim. The other universe had quarantined an entire planet?

"Sephiroth, enough! Who is this boy and what is he talking about?" Genesis demanded and Angeal nodded. Sephiroth took a deep breath and turned to look at them.

"This is Axel. He's the result of an experiment involving alien technology. Unlike us, his powers are completely psionic." Angeal looked thoughtful as Genesis snorted. Their world knew psychics, of course, but only as fortune tellers. Sephiroth smiled thinly. "I assure you, it's true. He smelled something odd about me when we first met. Hojo wanted to see his reaction to all three of us together." Angeal and Genesis both looked less than thrilled with the idea. They liked Hojo about as much as Sephiroth did.

"He's probably been monitoring this whole thing." Genesis groused as Axel paled. If he'd known that he'd have tried to shut up the AI sooner. Sephiroth shrugged and turned back to Axel.

"Is your AI certain we have this dark energy?" He asked. Tentative hypothesis didn't sound very certain to him. Axel turned his attention back to the AI and quickly got an answer.

"No, it's not sure at all. It says you need in depth testing to be sure." Axel looked troubled. "But it's mentioning testing equipment I – I don't think we have." It sounded like this dark energy was elusive stuff. Axel was vaguely aware of Angeal greeting Zack. This was all getting a little confusing and he was belatedly aware that he had just told a bunch of adults who were completely above him that his AI thought they had a disease.

"We'll have to go talk to Hojo." Angeal said as Sephiroth's lips tightened. Angeal caught the look on his face. "I know. I'll tell Dr. Hollander as well." Hojo would hate that but he'd no doubt expected it. "But Hojo is far more likely to find the solution." Angeal hated the thought but Axel's story of dark energy could explain the problems they had been having. But if it was true and if it could be removed, would all their special abilities be lost as well? It wasn't a good thought.

The rest of the day passed with all four of them trapped in Hojo's lab. Axel was heartily sick of it by the time it was over and Genesis and Sephiroth were both looking crabby. Only Angeal seemed mostly unaffected. He struck Axel as having enormous patience. Axel finally pulled out a string and began making a cat's cradle, which caught Genesis' eye.

"What are you doing?" Genesis asked as Axel looped the string around his fingers.

"Playin' Cat's Cradle. Want to play?" It was more fun with a partner, if Genesis knew how. The SOLDIER shook his head and went back to his book but Axel looked up as Angeal spoke.

"I will. This place is very boring." Angeal smiled and carefully pinched one of the strings. Soon they were both engrossed in moving the cradle from Axel's hands to Angeals. Sephiroth watched them with a small smile on his face as Hojo began scanning Genesis again.

"I think I have it." Hojo muttered, catching all their attention. "Very subtle. Very, very subtle." He had something up on a monitor and all three of the SOLDIERS moved over to see before he shood them back irritably. Axel tried to peer over Sephiroth's shoulder but could only see wavy lines on a screen.

"You've found this dark energy?" Angeal asked uneasily. He didn't like the name of it. He'd always suspected he was a monster and this seemed like confirmation. Hojo nodded before pointing at one particular screen.

"I think so. It's very difficult to isolate and without the three of you to analyze I wouldn't have been able to find it. But this appears to be a common thread. A very strange emanation. Curious. It seems to have permeated your entire bodies." Hojo mused as he looked at the readings. The energy was more concentrated in the Jenova cells but not exclusive to them.

"The AI says that when there's a heavy enough concentration it starts spilling out." Axel ventured. "And if the concentration is super heavy it can form a pinhole rift to the place the dark energy comes from." Axel was a bit vague on what happened then, but it sounded bad.

"I've always known I was… different." Genesis murmured and Sephiroth shook his head.

"How? How did this happen to us?" He asked but Hojo didn't answer, just examining his experiments. The SOLDIER glared at the back of his head for a long moment before releasing his breath in a sigh. "Can we go?"

"Oh, yes. For now." Hojo added to everyone's distress. Axel shot out the door and would have gone to Roxas but quickly was caught by a hand on his shoulder. Axel glanced up and met kind blue eyes.

"Could you show us more of your abilities? I admit, I am quite curious and I'm certain Genesis is as well." Axel hadn't been able to show them in the lab. Hojo had irritably stopped him when he tried, in case it might affect the equipment and the AI had admitted it was possible. Axel sighed to himself and nodded. He really just wanted to go back to Roxas but he wasn't going to say no to Angeal anymore than he would to Sephiroth.

"Sure." Axel was soon having fun showing off his abilities. The two SOLDIERS were particularly impressed with the phasing, which had no magical equivalent. Genesis murmured something about their not being a fourth but that just confused Axel. Eventually he was allowed to leave and go back to Roxas. He spent the rest of the evening telling the blonde about everything that had happened before they fell asleep, tangled together like a pair of puppies.

And then he dreamed.

* * *

"_Axel, you have to come get me RIGHT NOW." Valeria's expression was without humor and Axel gaped at her. She was wearing lemon yellow armor decorated with symbols etched in red and black. The armor was like nothing Axel had ever seen before, fitting her like a second skin and for the first time her fronds were not free. She had a helmet tucked under one arm and as he watched she pulled it on, looking at him from behind a green visor. "They're in the process of moving me and they've just stopped for the night. Now's the time."_

"_What! But – but – but Angeal and Genesis are here right now!" Valeria nodded. "Are you crazy? They'll kill us!"_

"_Maybe. Maybe not. We'll have to see what effect the mako has on me. If I'm weak we go tits up and beg. If I'm not, well, I'll decide. But we MUST move tonight." Axel swallowed hard at the certainty in her voice. "Now wake up and go. You know where." Axel nodded. He'd managed to find her body on one of his nocturnal ramblings._

_The dream erupted in sparks._

* * *

"Roxas, wake up." Axel touched his shoulder and the blonde boy groaned. "Wake up!"

"S'too early." Roxas mumbled and Axel checked the clock, seeing only four hours had passed. Yet he felt very refreshed. Valeria must have gotten the AI to condense his sleep. It could do that although it wouldn't except for emergencies.

"Come on Roxy." Axel shook him harder and Roxas grumbled at him before opening his eyes into slits. Then they opened wide as Axel explained. "It's time to go."

"What? Right now? But Angeal and Genesis are here." Roxas couldn't think of a worse time. Axel grimaced.

"I know but there's no choice. Something's spooked Hojo, he's moving Val tomorrow. It's now or never." Roxas growled something foul and pulled himself out of bed. The two of them quickly got dressed and Axel took Roxas' hand, using the connection to phase the other boy with him. They quickly traveled through the base and Axel neatly dropped them through the floor into a dusty, unused passage. He had to catch them both with his telekinesis and Roxas gasped faintly at the feeling of flying. Axel's powers had gotten a lot stronger with constant use.

They sneaked in easily, bypassing cameras just as Valeria had taught them. Axel had to short circuit a few, making them repeat their last footage indefinitely. Eventually someone would notice but hopefully not until it was too late. They found they were standing on a walkway over a deep pit. Axel had no idea why the basement was built that way but decided to go with it.

"Is that her?" Roxas said quietly as they stood in front of the tube. Axel nodded, staring into it. He could easily see it was Valeria but the injuries made him feel a little ill. Even with a mako bath could this really be fixed? Axel took a deep breath and looked around. There were empty mako tubes close. Then he froze as he saw one particular tube.

"N-No." He breathed as Roxas looked at him curiously. "Dolang?" Roxas jerked around and stared. The specimen floating in that tube was easily recognizable. "Dolang?!?" Axel rushed over to the tube, utterly horrified. It looked like his brother had contracted some kind of horrible disease. There were open, weeping sores and areas that looked like they'd been burnt open from the inside. Axel had hated and feared his brother but he still had never wanted anything like this to happen to him.

"Is he dead?" Roxas felt very queasy looking at the damage. Axel hesitated then suddenly sobbed.

"Yes." His nanite system could detect no trace of life. "Reno, why?!?" Had Reno agreed to this or did he just not know? Axel closed his eyes tightly for a moment, rage, grief and an odd sort of regret filling him. Regret for the brother he'd never really had. "Let's… get this over with." Hojo had to be behind this and freeing Valeria would piss him off. That would be a good start. Axel walked up to Valeria's tube and smashed it with a blast of telekinesis.

Roxas winced as alarms immediately began to wail but Axel ignored them and ignored the mako, grabbing Valeria and smoothly carrying her over to one of the baths. He dumped her in and watched, expressionless, as the mako began to bubble and froth. The concentrated energy of the lifestream was doing something but he had no idea if it was curing her or killing her. They would have to wait –

"What are you DOING?" Axel turned to glare at the piercing shriek. Hojo and he was accompanied by Sephiroth and a couple of nameless guards.

"Axel?" Sephiroth sounded uncertain and his gaze darted from the smashed tube to the bath. It had settled somewhat and the form within was curled up a bit, looking much more alive than it had a moment before. But Valeria hadn't opened her eyes.

"I'm freeing my mother!" Axel shouted, anger vibrating in his voice. "She's the one who told me everything! Not the AI! And I'm doing it to SPITE you Hojo! Look what you did to my brother!" Axel pointed and Sephiroth followed his gesture, a brief expression of revulsion crossing his face. But then, Sephiroth wasn't the heartless one here. That was Hojo. "I hated him but I didn't want him to die! We're leaving and you can't stop us!" He spat out and Sephiroth's face settled into calm professionalism.

"Yes, we can stop you Axel. You can't possibly defeat me." Sephiroth stepped forward and Axel held his ground, Roxas gripping his arm. They both knew he was right. He was getting good but he still wouldn't have a hope against the master swordsman. Then hands gripped the edge of the mako bath and suddenly a form erupted out of it, landing on the walkway between them. Valeria straightened, green eyes flashing and tossed back her cellulose hair.

Sephiroth moved so quickly Axel could hardly see it – but Valeria moved just as fast. Masamune was caught in the V of her hands in front of her face. Axel gaped as he realized she was using hardened air over her hands. He couldn't do that. How could she?

_Military level AI's and combat enhancements are many times more capable than civilian level. And you are less than civilian level._ The AI noted and Axel vaguely acknowledged it as Valeria grinned into Sephiroth's face and kicked him in the chest. He avoided the strike but had to leap back and then the walkway was torn apart like shredding paper. Valeria launched herself into the air, laughing wildly and Axel could see she hadn't been weakened by the mako at all.

"Hello Sephy baby, come make sweet love to me!" Axel blinked at that and Sephiroth seemed less than amused. But then the ceiling ripped open and Valeria shot through the roof, still laughing. Axel cursed and followed, gripping Roxas' wrist and phasing them directly through the ceiling. This wasn't going right at all! Sephiroth followed Valeria and Axel vaguely wondered how he could fly. The 1st Class SOLDIER was ignoring him and Roxas, correctly dismissing them as minor threats. Axel saw, to his horror, that Valeria was dancing in midair and humming a wild tune, naked as the day she was born. She seemed oblivious to danger.

"Valeria, take Sephiroth seriously!" Axel shrieked as the SOLDIER attacked. Valeria dodged effortlessly then began catching Masamune on her arms. It was like her arms were armored and the sword clashed as if it was hitting a shield. Then she went on the offensive and her hands flashed out as she attacked him bare-handed. Axel couldn't quite see what happened but when they separated her fingers were wet with blood… and so was the Masamune.

"You're good." She said approvingly, licking her fingers off. Then she paused, an odd look on her face before she spat out the blood. "And you taste awful." Sephiroth attacked again in a flurry of blows and she lifted her arm. Something small and dangerous shot out but Sephiroth managed to catch it with the Masamune. He was blown back in an explosion of fire and when the light cleared, Valeria had wrenched a small flagpole off a nearby building. She enfolded it in more telekinetic force. Then the battle began in earnest.

Axel and Roxas were somewhere between horrified and amazed as they watched the battle unfolding. Axel had known from what she'd told him that Valeria was a highly trained combat specialist but he hadn't realized how much she _loved _it or how good she really was. Or how much of an advantage the high tech would give her. Little missiles were shot from her arms and bedeviled Sephiroth, who had to dodge or knock them out of the sky. Axel felt a moments doubt though and wondered if Sephiroth had noticed that while several of the ones he'd dodged had detonated, several of them hadn't. They were drifting aimlessly as thought they'd lost target.

Then he spotted Angeal and Genesis staring up at them and the thought was driven out of his mind. The two SOLDIERS were clearly content to let Sephiroth handle this for now but he didn't doubt they'd step in if it looked like the other was overmatched. And there was a helicopter in the sky! Valeria noticed that and fired something at it. It wasn't a missile, it unfolded into a strange metallic starfish and clamped to the helicopter, disrupting it and forcing it to land. But still…

"Val, we have to get out of here fast!" Axel yelled at her. He was sure she would be content to fight forever but they had to GO. Valeria frowned and abruptly launched a vicious attack.

It didn't work. Sephiroth was the greatest swordsman of his generation… of any generation. He caught her pole and slipped the Masamune past her defenses. Axel gasped and Roxas made a dismayed sound as the blade sunk into her side, easily coming out the other side. Valeria's head dropped for a moment before she suddenly gripped the blade with one hand and Sephiroth's wrists with the other. She jerked her head up and grinned into startled green eyes. Suddenly alarmed, he tried to jerk away but she had him caught in more hardened air all around the Masamune. He began to summon magic but it was too late.

"You're fucked." She said conversationally and the little missiles that had been drifting suddenly weren't drifting at all. Three of them hit him in the back in rapid succession and they were configured to deliver jolts similar to a taser. Sephiroth's eyes rolled back as they overloaded his nervous system and Valeria caught his arm before he could fall. She carefully lowered him to a nearby roof and shot out two starfish to play tag with Angeal and Genesis. They both began shooting lasers at the two, fighting for maximum distraction as Valeria extracted the Masamune from her own body with a grimace. She regarded the blade with a frown then shook her head, dropping it beside the unconscious Sephiroth. "Can't see how he uses that. Come on kids!" She grabbed Axel and Roxas' hands as they landed beside her and abruptly they were phasing through the building. It only stopped when they reached the sewers beneath the city. "This way!" Axel blinked then laughed as he closely followed her. She could sense SOLDIERS from the moldy bread smell, but they couldn't be tracked. Hojo had tried to plant a tracker on Axel and it had seemed to function… but a few minutes ago the nanites had finished eating it.

They were free.


	11. Starfish and Other Oddities

"This is becoming extremely annoying!" Genesis was vexed. His sword glowed red for a moment before he tossed a fireball, easily disintegrating several starfish. Unfortunately, that left approximately fifty of them. Maybe more. It was getting difficult to count.

"These infernal things are self-replicating." Angeal didn't know how they were doing it. This was super science that verged on magic. It made most of Shinra's weapons look like toys.

When Valeria and the others had vanished down into the ground Angeal and Genesis hadn't anticipated being held up more than a moment or two. Medics were already busy reaching Sephiroth and Rufus was calling in the SOLDIERS. Unfortunately while Angeal and Genesis tried to nail the two starfish they'd failed to notice what the third was up to. The pilot of the helicopter HAD noticed but since the starfish had coopted every aspect of the helicopter, including the radio, he was reduced to waving and shouting in an attempt to gain the 1st Class SOLDIERS attention. By the time he had gotten it, it had been rather too late.

The starfish had eaten the helicopter and set about ferociously replicating itself. The little duplicates were definitely inferior in materials and abilities but they could still fire a single laser and were fairly dangerous. Worst of all, they were also capable of replication. The first batch of replicated starfish had scattered down into the streets and began quietly noshing on cars. Tucking themselves in little nooks and crannies, they were almost invisible until more starfish came out.

The situation was beginning to resemble a disaster. Angeal and Genesis could easily destroy the starfish but there was just too damn many! They were everywhere and the two of them had to constantly block and dodge the lasers. Fortunately the lasers seemed more like the missiles that had hit Sephiroth rather than real lasers. Several SOLDIERS were down for the count but the medics had already relayed that no one was in danger. Sephiroth was already beginning to recover although he was extremely groggy.

Angeal reflected grimly that this was proving to be a fine distraction for the alien woman and the two children. Rufus had dispatched some SOLDIERS directly into the sewers but he doubted they'd find anything and the real heavy hitters like himself and Genesis were effectively tied up by the starfish. They didn't dare leave them in case the situation began to deteriorate further. Another helicopter started to come in and Angeal swore.

"Tell that idiot – nevermind." A starfish had just intercepted it and was bringing it down as several others leaped on in a feeding frenzy. "Someone remind the civilian authorities that they're just feeding the things!" Utterly disgusted, Angeal landed on a building and glared at the SOLDIER close to him. "Zack, it's not funny." Zack was grinning as he danced away from a laser blast and neatly tossed a spell, killing off another few starfish.

"It is really. All they've killed so far is a lot of cars and helicopters…. Hmm. I wonder if insurance will cover alien invasions?" Zack mused as a panting Cloud ran up. Half his hair had been singed off somewhere in the melee but he was still a going concern. "What happened to you?" The starfish weren't using fire weapons. Cloud grimaced.

"Friendly fire." Zack winced sympathetically. The only real danger to the SOLDIERS in the chaotic melee was each other. Unfortunately with the way the starfish could dodge that was a big concern.

The fight seemed to go on forever and it quickly became clear they were not winning. More and more of the starfish were spawning and a nearby building looked in danger of collapse from the holes bitten in its structure. Then abruptly, to everyone's shock, it ended.

It was a sort of pathetic ending. The starfish started whining softly and as the SOLDIERS were tensing for some kind of final assault they began to collapse to the ground. Hundreds of them dropped out of the air like shot birds, hitting the ground with metallic little patters. Many of them twitched sadly before curling up a little and going stiff. Cloud tentatively kicked one and Zack frowned, consulting his watch.

"I'll be damned. Angeal, they were on a timer. It's been exactly four hours." More than enough time to give the alien and the boys a very good lead, especially with their phasing. Who knew where they'd gotten to? Hojo had been furious to find his trackers on Axel and Roxas were completely disabled. He'd never been able to implant one at all on the female. Angeal regarded the dead starfish in disgust as Genesis landed and walked over, vaguely bewildered.

"What happened?" He asked and Angeal shook his head.

"We've been hoodwinked." Hindsight was twenty twenty and Angeal could see that they should have just ignored the fish and gone after the much greater threat. But the starfish could have been a massive problem if they'd kept replicating so he couldn't blame himself too much. "Is Sephiroth awake?"

"I can take care of this Angeal." Genesis desperately wanted to be the hero. Angeal had to bite his lip to keep from pointing out that Sephiroth had beaten him several times already and he'd just gotten knocked out. Angeal highly doubted that Genesis would have fared better. Fortunately Zack came to the rescue.

"He's right over there." They both turned to look as Sephiroth walked through the ruins of the starfish, kicking them out of the way. Angeal didn't like the look on his face. Not that he looked upset. Quite the opposite, he looked dazed and seemed to be weaving a bit. "Uh, are you okay?" Zack spoke for all of them as Sephiroth peered at Cloud owlishly, who looked quite intimidated.

"I'm fine… Reana, when did you cut your hair?" Sephiroth asked and Genesis was surprised into a giggle. Angeal's eyebrows lifted… he'd never heard Genesis giggle before. But then, he'd never heard Sephiroth sound so out of it or imagined he could mistake Cloud for Rufus' blonde, beautiful secretary. The young SOLDIER looked mortified.

"That's Cloud. Are you sure you're alright?" Zack's worried question didn't get an answer. At least, not a verbal one. But Cloud had to quickly jump back to avoid getting his shoes decorated. Angeal winced and grabbed Sephiroth's arm before he could faceplant into it.

"Why did the medics let him go?" He asked no one in particular but got a very angry answer from a medic who was just arriving on the roof. They'd had to take the long route while Sephiroth had flown over.

"He kept threatening to kill us!" Sephiroth mumbled something and tried to reach for the Masamune before Angeal restrained him. The medic prudently stayed back. Angeal thought it was rather unlikely Sephiroth could hit him in his state, but it would figure if his aim was the only thing unaffected by the jolt he'd taken.

"Sephiroth, you need to rest." Angeal said firmly and began guiding the groggy SOLDIER back to the medics. They looked less than thrilled but then Rufus stepped out onto the roof. He took one look at the situation and discerned what was happening.

"Sephiroth, go with them. Angeal, Genesis, start searching for those brats." Rufus was peeved. Things had actually seemed to be going well and now they'd suddenly gone to Hell in a handbasket. Sephiroth muttered a bit but finally let the medics fuss over him. "And someone get these things to weapons development." Rufus was sure Scarlet and Heidegger would like to get a look at the starfish. Angeal nodded and started looking for the way into the sewers under the building the alien woman and the boys had disappeared into.

He doubted they'd find them, but they had to try.

* * *

"Mmmm beer." Valeria downed some frothy brew, sitting back with a sigh. "Beer and noshies, what more could we need?"

"Chairs would be good. Or a bed. Poor Roxas is going to be hurting when he wakes up." Axel commented as he glanced over at the blonde. Roxas was deeply asleep, curled up in a blanket on the concrete floor.

They were in someone's basement. Who, Axel had no idea. But Valeria had jammed the door and put up some kind of outgoing silencing field so it wasn't likely they'd be disturbed for a while. Alien invasion was not likely to occur to the person who owned the place. Find tools and remove the door might, but if he or she did that the sound would give them plenty of warning. Right now they needed to rest and eat and fortunately the basement had an entire shelf of picked and canned items. Valeria was digging in with a will. Apparently the mako bath and injuries she'd taken had used up a lot of energy and she needed to replenish it. Valeria also claimed she'd need to sleep soon, urgently. Right now, though, she seemed wide awake and was peering into a brown jar.

"Hey, is this pickled herring?" She pulled out a slimy piece of fish and Axel winced at the look of it. He hated pickled fish. "Herring seeks your life!" There was suddenly a piece of fish pointed at his nose and Axel's eyes crossed as he tried to look at it.

"I say what?" He said, bewildered, as Valeria grinned widely and started to eat her herring with relish.

"Sorry, Monty Python reference." Axel just looked more confused and Valeria smiled again. "See, the main character has to cut down the biggest tree in the forest with… herring!"

"What? That's not possible. How does he do it?" Axel asked, interested, and Valeria shook her head.

"Oh, he doesn't. He manages to incapacitate the Knights Who Formerly Said Ni and takes off. It's an awesome movie. The part with the rabbit of death and the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch is the best part." She grinned wickedly. "Would it surprise you to know that the main cannon of the dreadnought is called the Holy Hand Grenade? I mean, that's the actual technical name."

"Let me guess. T'assa designed it?" Valeria laughed and nodded. Axel grinned back at her. "You guys are freaks. You'll have to show me this movie sometime!"

"Sure!" The thought pleased Valeria greatly and they fell into a companionable silence. Finally she finished the entire jar and set it aside before yawning widely. "I'm to sleep. Do you think you can stay awake for a bit?" They needed to have someone awake and aware in case anything untoward happened. Axel nodded.

"Sure." Axel watched as Valeria curled up on the floor and pulled himself up. He wanted to go find some clothing for Val and he was pretty sure there was no one in the house. He'd be very careful though, just in case. The last thing he wanted was for them to get caught down here.

As it turned out he was right and better still, it looked like the owner of the house was into something quasi-legal. Axel was able to find a large cloak that would cover Valeria fully. He quickly absconded with it and a few scarves for him and Roxas. It would be a flimsy disguise but they could figure out something better later. When he went downstairs Roxas was starting to stir.

"Mmm, Axel?" Roxas sat up and winced as his joints protested. "Ow." Sleeping on the floor was a little painful. "How long was I out?"

"Not long, only a half hour. You should get back to sleep if you can." Axel smiled and sat down beside him, putting an arm around him. "I should catch a bit of sleep too." Roxas smiled and nuzzled him lovingly for a moment. Axel returned the attention, vaguely wishing they could do something more. But Valeria was in the same room and Axel was dead certain that if she caught them doing it there would be a lot of laughing and pointing. Just the thought was enough to silence his teenage libido. Roxas apparently felt the same way because he just curled up beside Axel with a sigh.

"No sign of any pursuit?" Roxas murmured and Axel shook his head.

"None. But we're in private property now Roxy." And they'd laid some amusing false trails by ducking in and out of the tunnels. Axel thought the SOLDIERS would need to be psychic to figure out their backtrail. And they couldn't just burrow into every private cellar in the city. Even in Midgar there were some limits. "The danger comes when we have to leave." By now the SOLDIERS could have infiltrated the sewers thoroughly. Axel thought it might be better to start going through the city again. They'd have to discuss it with Valeria when she woke up. Roxas nodded and closed his eyes. Axel watched him for a moment, smiling at how angelic Roxas looked when he dozed. Then he closed his eyes and cuddled up.

Soon they would have a long trip ahead of them.

* * *

"Are you guys sure this is a good idea?" Roxas was very nervous with it. Only Valeria's hardened air shield was letting him do it at all, in fact. The ability that was very draining for Axel seemed effortless for her… as long as she kept eating, anyway. She'd managed to find a backpack and fill it with pilfered jars before they left the cellar.

"Nope. You got a better one?" Valeria asked as she ate a bit more herring. "Mmm."

They were tucked into the wheel well of an airplane. Normally it would have been unsafe to the point of unthinkable. Roxas had read a news report once about a stowaway being found, dead of frostbite. And three people managing to fit in between the gear and the plane was a bit excessive. But Valeria had used her starfish to quietly infiltrate the plane's systems and prevent the wheel from fully retracting while telling the pilot everything was fine. Then she'd used the hardened air to protect them from the worst of the cold and turbulence. A bit of heat from Axel had sealed the deal and while they were not flying in comfort they were not in imminent danger of demise. Although Roxas wasn't sure what they'd do when they arrived. Sprint for cover sounded like a good idea.

"No point in worrying about it now Roxy. What are we going to do, jump off?" Axel said as he tried to get a bit more comfortable on the wheel. It was hard going. The three of them didn't fit very well which made things even more of a trial. Roxas sighed.

"I guess not. So where are we going anyway?" He wasn't at all sure about that and they didn't have much to do now but talk. There was no way they were going to sleep here. Then something occurred to him. "Hey, how are we breathing here?" The air got thinner the higher they went. They should be having problems unless… Roxas gave Valeria a look and caught her grin. "You're doing something?"

"Yep. Don't ask what, it would break your brain." She said airily and Roxas rolled his eyes as Axel grinned. She'd tried to explain one of her tricks already and finally told them to just think of it as magic. Axel had managed to get it, kind of, but only because the AI in his head had patiently explained and re-explained the concepts. Roxas didn't have that kind of help. "We're going to find my ship. It's up North, and lucky us this plane is going the right way!" Valeria was pleased with that. Now that she was awake she could sense the location of her ship, although it was faint.

"How far North?" Roxas asked suspiciously. Axel was following Valeria like a kid with his first crush, and now that he'd met her Roxas could see why. Her personality was like Axel on steroids, all quirky fun and highly personable. And just like Axel, he could tell when she was holding out on them. Valeria coughed and grinned like a naughty child.

"Pretty far!" She said brightly and Roxas fixed her with the exact same look he'd given Axel when the redhead had tried to convince him that sneaking up on Zack was a good idea. "Awfully far?"

"We're going to the Arctic, aren't we." Roxas said, resigned as Axel looked slightly horrified.

"I think that's what you call it, yes." Valeria admitted as Axel made a gagging sound. "Sorry boys."

"It's okay. We'll survive." They wouldn't like it but they'd survive. "We'll need some really heavy clothing… and food… and supplies. We need money." Roxas didn't think they'd be able to steal everything they needed. Valeria looked pensive for a moment.

"There's something I've been meaning to do. I suppose there's no better time than now." She began to concentrate and Axel and Roxas both watched as her skin took on a peachy tone. The black whorls lightened as well until they were almost the same shade. Valeria was wincing a bit as the change took place and even her hair seemed to soften and lengthen a touch. "Ow… ow."

"You're making yourself look more human?" Axel asked, a touch amazed. He tilted his head to one side, looking at the result critically. "You look like you've got a horrible skin disease." The slightly firmer texture of her flesh was more obvious now. Valeria flashed him a smile.

"Why thank you! Come closer, my children, so I can give you my alien cooties." Roxas and Axel both laughed as she playfully menaced them. "I know, it's not great. But it'll help from a distance. Hmm. Do you think we should steal the money? Or should we get a job?" Axel winced at the thought of stealing it. He'd always been on honest boy. On the other hand, they really needed the money.

"Could we steal it from someone who deserves to lose it?" Roxas asked thoughtfully. "Like, I don't know, a drug dealer?" That would be almost justified. Valeria thought about it for a moment and smiled.

"Maaaybe… we'll have to look into that. Should be interesting!" Valeria suddenly paused. "That reminds me. I want to say thank you." Axel looked at her, surprised and Roxas was almost astonished. "Thank you so much for rescuing me. That living death was just too much." She shivered faintly as she remembered it. Existing under Hojo's care had been just that… mere existence with no hope or future. Now she had a future, even if it was as a blood stain.

It was several more hours before the plane began to loose elevation. The starfish warned them of when the gear was going to retract and Valeria gripped a pipe before using her strength and levitation to hold them both with her. The wheel fell away and for a brief moment Roxas looked down before gulping and closing his eyes. Some things were too much.

As the plane started to come down for a landing, though, Valeria proved she'd already thought things out. She abruptly let go of the plane, letting them drop and carefully shedding their velocity. Roxas muffled a scream and Axel muttered a few prayers as the trees and houses flashed past.

"Oh, stop being such pussies. I know what I'm doing." Her confidence was unshakeable and as it turned out, justified. They landed neatly in a park, a few miles from the airport. Fortunately the park seemed to be mostly deserted. "Okay!" Valeria rubbed her hands together before pulling up the hood of her cloak. "Ready to rumble?"

"You bet!" Axel said enthusiastically as Roxas wobbled, trying to get feeling back in his legs.

"You two are going to be the death of me." But he smiled as he said it.

It would be grand way to go.


	12. What Makes a Hero?

"So why weren't we allowed to go with her again?" Axel inquired as Roxas considered throwing a pillow at him.

"Because I'm just a normal kid and you're not much better. Now hush, I'm trying to figure out who killed Mr. Clue." Axel glanced at the TV and saw he was watching the Mystery Network. Some kind of old show in a mansion with a lot of glittery chandeliers and a detective with a funny hat.

"The butler did it." Roxas growled and did pitch a pillow at his lover. Axel caught it with a laugh.

"Pretty soon it'll be me doing it, in the bedroom with a pillow. Now hush!" Axel grinned but hushed. He could tell Roxas was almost serious. He was really enjoying that old show.

Valeria had insisted on doing her raid alone. Well, sort of alone. Roxas and Axel had helped her cozen a drug dealer into fingering his supplier for a cut of the proceeds. Axel rather doubted either the drug dealer or the supplier would be surviving the night. Valeria's moral code was a bit alien and she saw no reason to keep a bargain with a traitor. But she hadn't wanted to take either of them for the violent part and her reasons had been good. Valeria was extremely hard to kill. Only decapitation or massive trauma to the vital organs could do it. Axel was harder to kill than most people but he was more vulnerable than that, and Roxas was completely normal. So they were chilling in a very crappy hotel room as they waited for Valeria to return.

She finally did at around four AM, grinning like a fool and carrying a large bag filled with gil. Although she did have some cautionary words.

"We might want to blow this Popsicle stand pretty quickly. He kept screaming about his boss before I killed him and I nailed that drug dealer too, but you never know. Someone might figure out who I am. So is this a lot of money?" Valeria asked as Axel whistled, looking at the coins. It was more gil than he'd ever seen in his life.

"Plenty. Hmm, if we're going to the far North we should buy some chocobos now but wait to get supplies until we hit…" Axel pulled out a map they'd picked up at a general store with the remains of Roxas' allowance. "Banora. Does that sound good?"

"Sounds great! Just one question." Axel and Roxas both looked at Valeria expectantly. She gave them a sunny smile. "What's a chocobo?" Axel blinked and Roxas grinned.

"Oh, just a riding animal. Not to worry, they're easy." Valeria looked very uneasy at that answer. Axel wondered why.

He found out the next day and almost laughed himself sick.

"It's not funny!" Valeria snarled as she tried with some difficulty to stay on the chocobo. It was rolling its eyes and prancing. "I'm descended from pack predators! This is a PREY animal! They can tell!"

"So what do you ride in your world? Other predators?" Roxas asked, genuinely interested. Valeria scowled and nodded.

"They're called Raado. Humans call them Great Dogs… by the Beast! I am going to eat you!" She snarled at the chocobo as it tried to buck. Axel grinned and decided not to point out that her threats would probably make it even more nervous if it could understand them.

Axel thought the problem was more than her predatory nature. He knew a bit about chocobos from a summer job he'd gotten mucking out stalls once and he'd seen people who naturally connected to the birds and people who didn't. Valeria didn't. Although she was naturally athletic enough to stay on no matter what the bird did she lacked any sense of what it wanted. Roxas was doing better and he'd only heard of chocobos until today. Axel was doing best, but then he was most familiar with the birds.

"When we reach Banora, we're getting separate rooms." Roxas said firmly, changing the topic. Valeria paused in her fight with the chocobo to grin at them.

"Feeling frisky? Well, why not?" She laughed. "I could just take a very long walk, you know!" Roxas blushed and shook his head. They were all sharing a tent now as they traveled through a remote wilderness trail to Banora. Axel and Roxas had both been horrified to see newcasts going out with their pictures so Valeria had bought the supplies and they had left the city as fast as they could. They'd taken the trail to stay out of sight as much as possible although they would need to reveal themselves a little in Banora to get supplies and all the equipment they'd need for the trek to the Arctic. Valeria was blissfully unconcerned and claimed that she could literally adapt herself to the sub-zero temperatures. She even claimed it was possible for her to assume a semi-aquatic form meant to live in cold water like a seal. Axel wanted to see that but it was really a terrible idea since the change would take a week in a coma.

"You know what's weird Roxy?" Roxas blinked as he came out of his thoughts, looking at Axel. The redhead was smiling as he handled his chocobo easily. "My ass hurts, I feel dirty and we're on the run from the law. But I'm really having fun."

"That's because you're a freak." Roxas couldn't help but smile though. Axel looked so alive and free, his red hair glowing and green eyes sparkling with life. Axel leaned over and tried to give him a kiss but almost fell off the chocobo. "Axel! Watch it."

"Whoops." Axel laughed and straightened again. The chocobo glanced back with a puzzled air as if to ask what this thing on his back thought it was doing. "Sorry. Man, we are going to need a private room when we get to Banora." It had been several days and Axel was keenly missing his private time with Roxas. Valeria was willing to take walks but it just wasn't the same. As they traveled he vaguely wondered what Banora would be like. He'd only seen a village once in his life and the villagers had been downright rude to his class. It should be interesting anyway.

Neither Valeria nor Axel had any gift for seeing the future. So they couldn't know that fate would be waiting for them there.

* * *

Genesis leaned on the edge of the balcony and looked over the city of Midgar. After a moment, he flexed his fingers. They were going numb again.

There was something wrong with him. He'd known that long before the red haired child began spouting off about dark energy. He'd been gradually losing the feeling in his fingers and toes for some time and Dr. Hollander had been unable to find a cause. He'd finally suggested it might be in his mind but Genesis rejected that hypothesis. He wasn't a hypochondriac. What he was feeling was real. Genesis had also noticed that his fingernails were turning slightly purple and seemed to be lengthening. Dr. Hollander claimed it was nothing to be worried about, that he could find no physical problems. But Genesis knew he was lying.

"No physical problems." Genesis examined his nails for a moment before opening his book and studying the words again. There were so many interpretations for LOVELESS. And so many things he hadn't known. Could the nanites be the gift of the Goddess? And could this alien woman be the Goddess? Or was she the gift? "To find the gift of the goddess…" Genesis mused and considered the facts. Rufus strongly suspected the children and the alien were heading for the sight of her crash landed craft. They'd never been able to remove it from the ice, although they'd tried. The technology was almost impenetrable anyway. All they'd gotten from it was alloy samples and there were metallurgists still trying to understand how they could have possibly been made. Sephiroth and Angeal had both been dispatched to the sight but not Genesis. Anger tightened his jaw for a moment. He knew that Rufus harbored doubts about his reliability and Dr. Hollander had no doubt reported the problems he was having. "But for now it will serve me well." He had no tasks. It would be easy to simply vanish away. He would be AWOL, of course, but Genesis found that he didn't care. He trusted his feelings. There were many routes to the North and one of them went directly through Banora.

He would wait for the children there.

* * *

"Finally. Some time alone." Roxas said with a groan as Axel explored his throat. They were in Banora and had gotten a room with a kind older couple on the outskirts of town. Valeria had a completely different room all to herself. They were paying quite a bit but that was just fine. It wasn't like the money had been theirs in the first place.

"You taste wonderful." Roxas shivered faintly at Axel's warm breath in his ear and ran his hands over Axel's body, exploring anything and everything. They kissed deeply, enjoying the contact and Axel began to unbutton his pants, pulling then down and –

"Hm. Awkward." The cool, collected voice stopped them both in their tracks. Utterly horrified, Roxas looked over Axel's shoulder to see Genesis standing in the doorway. He'd opened the door so silently that neither one of them had noticed and Roxas was just thankful Axel still had his pants on or the SOLDIER would be getting a great view of his ass. Genesis checked his watch for a moment. "When will you be done?"

"Oh my god you PERVERT! Get out of here!" Axel half-shrieked and tossed a pillow at the door. Genesis caught it easily with lifted eyebrows then shrugged and walked out. Roxas made a small whimpering sound.

"Axel, that just killed my mood more thoroughly than Valeria talking about how funny penises are." If he had to pick between Genesis or Valeria, he thought he'd pick the alien. At least she was trying to annoy them when Genesis had been dead serious. Axel groaned and pulled away.

"It's killed it for me too." He admitted as Roxas pulled his pants back up. "How in Hell did he find us?" Axel was panicking a little now… but then he heard Valeria's distinctive, upbeat tones outside his door followed by the lower murmur of Genesis' voice. They seemed to be talking, not fighting. Maybe they could work something out.

"YES Mary! We could use some TEA!" Valeria half-shouted and Axel grinned as Roxas winced. The little old lady putting them up was half-deaf and slightly blind. Which was great from their perspective since she couldn't hear the boys making out and couldn't see how weird Valeria looked. They both stepped out into the living room and saw Genesis regarding Mary tolerantly as she poured them some tea, beaming.

"Remember to say hello to your parents." She reminded Genesis whose smile faded for a moment. But he nodded before looking to Valeria as she picked up her tea and took a sip.

"So! Are we surrounded and you're here to offer us terms of surrender?" She said lightly but Axel didn't miss the tension under her voice. Neither did Genesis. He shook his head before picking up his own tea.

"Not at all." Genesis sipped his tea, buying himself a moment to think. "It is only a theory, but I think your nanites might be the gift of the goddess. Perhaps they can help me with my… problem." Genesis extended his left hand to her and Valeria set her cup down before taking it with a frown. She slowly tapped one of his fingernails and Axel saw with a queasy feeling that they were almost purple.

"You're referring to that old LOVELESS story. I've heard of it." Valeria shrugged. "I was never into that sort of thing but this looks like a mutation from the dark energy to me. I might be able to help. But tell me, how did you find us here?" She let go of his hand and tilted her head to one side. Axel and Roxas took a seat on the sofa and Valeria gave them a small, reassuring smile. Genesis shrugged.

"I knew you would be going North and one way to the Arctic is through Banora. I just knew you would come here. It was the will of the Goddess." Valeria suddenly bit her lip and gave Genesis a very sharp look. Genesis just stared back at her, a faint challenge on his face. Daring her to deny that it was the will of the Goddess.

"Yes. Yes, it would be." She murmured softly, almost inaudibly and Axel frowned. She seemed shocked and a bit afraid. It wasn't normal on Valeria. He'd thought of her as being afraid of nothing. She drew a deep breath and Axel frowned before butting in. He just had to ask.

"Why does the Goddess bother you?" Genesis blinked and turned to look at him and Roxas like he'd forgotten they were there. Valeria smiled faintly then laughed but her heart clearly wasn't in it.

"Oh, my people worship the Green Lady. It's said to be another name for Gaia or the Great Goddess of All." Valeria said lightly but Axel could tell she was still shaken. "The thing is, she very rarely touches an individual with her grace. We're just too small for her to notice. If the Goddess does notice you then something very interesting and likely appalling is about to take place." She paused then gave Genesis a half-smile. "The last time the situation was oddly similar." Genesis gave her a searching look but she didn't elaborate. "Well, I'll help you. But how are you going to help us?" She wanted to know what she'd get out of this symbiotic relationship.

"I'll help you against Sephiroth and Angeal." Genesis said easily as Valeria frowned and Axel and Roxas both stiffened. "They're waiting for you at the ship. It wasn't hard to guess where you'd be going. And you won't beat Sephiroth so easily a second time."

"Hmph. Well, I hope they brought a good tent or they're probably freezing their poor little toesies off." Axel laughed at Valeria's sardonic tone and even Genesis and Roxas managed to smile. "I know I won't. The only reason I got him so good the first time was because he totally underestimated me." Sephiroth had left himself wide open to her missiles but he wouldn't make that mistake again. And Valeria was basically unarmed. She should have had armor and weapons but they'd been stripped from her and god knows what Hojo had done with them. Not that they would work for anyone else so maybe he was using them as paperweights. Reverse engineering them would be almost impossible. "Well!" Valeria gulped the rest of her tea, making Genesis wince at the abuse of a fine beverage. "If I'm going to help you there's no time like the present. Besides, I bet Roxas and Axel would like to get back to their rudely interrupted make-out session." Roxas blushed as Axel coughed. "So come on. I need to molest you." Valeria grabbed a startled Genesis by the arm and pulled him out of the room.

"Excuse me?" Axel heard before she firmly shut the door. Roxas laughed and Axel looked at him questioningly.

"He totally deserves it." Roxas was a little bitter about the interrupted sex moment. Although… "Do you think we could get back in the mood?" He asked softly and Axel smiled, putting an arm around him.

"I think maybe I could." Axel found Roxas' lips again for a passionate kiss and they went back to the bedroom, hand in hand.

All was right with the world.

* * *

"That's good. Just stay still, this might sting a bit." Genesis was feeling jumpy as the alien slipped an arm around his chest and rested her chin on his shoulder.

She wasn't actually molesting him but the position was uncomfortably intimate, especially since she'd insisted they both get rid of their shirts. Apparently a good amount of skin on skin contact was needed for what she wanted to do. Valeria was sitting on the bed with her back against the wall and Genesis was in front of her, his back flat against her body.

"You see, it's the nanites." She murmured as he felt a tingling sensation down his spine. It wasn't painful, exactly, but it wasn't nice. "They need to get in but they've got to retain contact with my AI. Nanites without the AI are stooopid and would probably just kill you. The AI can make fine judgments and won't just attack the mutations wholesale like the nanites probably would." That was the real reason why Dolang had died and Sephiroth's blood had come apart when exposed to nanites. They were just too dumb to realize that they couldn't eradicate the disease that was Jenova and dark energy. Genesis relaxed as the tingling eased into numbness but that also worried him.

"The numbness. Are you causing that?" He'd been losing feeling in his fingers so any more loss was alarming. But Valeria nodded, her chin tapping his shoulder.

"Yes. I'm in your nervous system now. I could give you an instant hard on, want to see?" Her tone was impish and Genesis winced.

"Unless you intend to give me a hand job at the same time, I'll pass." He said firmly and smiled faintly at her clear, bell-like laugh.

"Bet you'd love that." She said teasingly and Genesis reflected that if only she had been human, perhaps he would have been interested. He'd never met a girl like her in his life. "So, given up on being the hero?" Genesis didn't think to question how she knew that. He was beginning to feel loose and floaty, almost like he was drugged.

"Yes. Let Sephiroth be the hero. I'll be the wanderer instead." But he couldn't help the bitterness in his voice. Why was Sephiroth always the hero? Why couldn't it be him? He was just as good. Valeria made a small sound 'hmm' sound in the back of her throat.

"This is going to take a very long time. You have a lot of DNA degradation and the alien cells aren't helping at all. So… let me tell you a story. This is a true story and the people involved are ones you would recognize, although they're also very different. One of them was much like you." Genesis tried to look at her but then just closed his eyes. It was easier just to listen as her voice took on a slow, almost hypnotic cadence. "There were three young men created at the dawn of the space age. Meant to be weapons and nothing else they did many great and horrible things. One of them was always recognized as both a hero and a monster. The other two were almost ignored. Hatred came between them and they fought many times."

"Then a darkness came from the stars. An alien race known to my people. They had killed billions of us but we could not stand against them because they possessed psionic abilities beyond anything we knew. The three united against the darkness and rallied the world behind them. Humanity found the way to steal the psionic powers of the enemy." Genesis listened, entranced, as the story unfolded. "One of the three fell in battle. One sacrificed the darkness within himself to end a great threat and lived as a normal man. The third found balance but only at great cost. That third was the hero to all the people and still is to this day."

"But who was the true hero?" Valeria whispered as she touched his cheek with one finger. "The man the people acknowledged? Or the man who sacrificed the darkness to feed the light? And later, he would be the man who held the Goddess and saved an entire sector as the third destroyed one of my people who had been twisted by darkness and hate. But his part was not obvious, not like a fight in the sky with lights blazing. So again, the third man would be the hero. But they both knew the truth and they were content." She trailed her finger down until it was poking his breastbone and Genesis felt a strangely intimate connection with this alien woman. He could almost imagine the three men she was talking about were Sephiroth, Angeal and himself. But that was ridiculous. Wasn't it? "So tell me Genesis. Is Sephiroth the hero because people call his name? Or are you and are the people merely blind?"

"I… don't know." Genesis whispered as his thoughts seemed to twist. He'd never considered her point, but she was right. Being acclaimed in public didn't make someone a hero, not really. "Are you the voice of the Goddess?" Genesis winced as the flat palm of her hand smacked his head.

"Blasphemy!" But there was good cheer in Valeria's voice. "If my mother heard you say that she'd beat you with something pointy."

"Then I won't say it around her." Genesis smiled faintly as he thought. "Perhaps you're right. Being acclaimed by the public means nothing. But I think I'm the wanderer, not the hero. I'm going to have to come with you aren't I?" There was a brief silence behind him before Valeria spoke.

"Yes. The nanites I have can only delay your deterioration. They can't remove the dark energy, and that's what's truly causing this damage to you. Well, it's better to be a wanderer anyway. You can wander into all kinds of parties and find new varieties of beer along the way." Genesis closed his eyes. He was beginning to feel sleepy.

"I prefer wine." He said softly and heard a snort behind him.

"Rotten fruit juice. Remind me to introduce you to Zerg, you'll love it." Her voice dropped to an intimate whisper, husky and sweet. "Sweet dreams Genesis." And he slipped into a doze, dreaming of apples and beer that actually tasted good.


	13. Banora White

"Mfph!"

"That really isn't the best way to eat a Dumbapple." Genesis tried to ignore Axel and Roxas, who were laughing themselves sick at the spectacle of Valeria with both cheeks full of apple bits to the point that she was doing a very good imitation of a hamster. "Or rather, four Dumbapples." Genesis added as he looked at the scattered cores. This was making him reconsider his dream of eating a Banora White with Sephiroth. Although surely Sephiroth wouldn't do anything like this. He was a normal person and didn't have expandable cheeks. Still, just the idea was giving him a desire for brain bleach.

They were all sitting on a hill on the outskirts of Banora. It was within a nice grove of Dumbapple trees and Genesis had decided to introduce them all to the local delicacy, although as it turned out Valeria had known about them already. She'd been quite delighted though and had immediately set to gorging.

"Watch this!" Valeria said, a touch indistinctly. Then she spat out a small piece of apple and nailed another apple, knocking it clean off the tree. Everyone watched it fall.

"I do hope you're eating that, because I'm sure not. It must have your spit all over it after that." Roxas commented and Axel levitated the apple over before grabbing it and taking a bite. "Ewww, Axel. Alien cooties remember?"

"Alien cooties taste good!" Axel said with a grin. Genesis shook his head and glanced over at Valeria. To his mild horror her cheeks had gone back to normal and she was busily knawing another apple.

"These are really good. I've never tried the real thing before, just replicated ones. They only grow on three planets you see. JubJub, Phonica and Glabrezu. Which is really weird if you think about it since Glabrezu is a super hot world, JubJub is mostly water and Phonica is a desert world. But there you go. Although I think they only grow them in the temperate bands of Phonica." Valeria paused to pick a bit of skin out of her teeth. "Every planet has some variation once it's been terraformed. It's just kinda weird that they won't grow on most of the garden worlds. Those are the ones right in the goldilocks zone." She added but that just confused everyone.

"Goldilocks zone?" Genesis questioned and Valeria nodded with a grin before taking a large bite of the apple.

"Not to hot and not too cold, it's just right! Life doesn't exist too well unless conditions are just so. The goldilocks zone is the particular orbit point that allows life to exist." She shrugged. "We can alter non-goldilocks zone worlds to support life but it's never easy. We mostly don't bother. It's easier to work with even a really marginal goldilocks world like Typhoon or Hades."

"Tell me about them." Genesis requested and listened as Valeria launched into descriptions of several worlds. Typhoon was apparently a water world on a highly elliptical orbit. It alternately froze and boiled, so only the depths of the sea were habitable. And that was where Terrans lived, adapted to an aquatic form. T'assa could live there but generally chose not to since the society was very religious and had a rigid caste system. Not their cup of tea. Hades was a superheated, heavy gravity world orbiting a ginormous star. It required alterations almost as extreme as Typhoon to survive the powerful radiation and heavy gravity.

"Not to mention that the air there would kill all of you instantly." Valeria said as she polished off her fruit. "But the nanites are real miracle workers. We can alter our tolerances. I once read an article about evolution and how the nanites and AI and everything is how we've evolved ourselves for the future. I dunno, it's all kind of deep for me. My mind works on a different level." Which was just as complicated as evolution theory, really, but more oriented towards all the vast and varied ways to kill people. Valeria let out a contented belch. "Woo, I'm stuffed!"

"I should hope so. I thought you were trying to eat the entire town out of apples." Genesis began picking up the cores but Valeria gripped his wrist, shaking her head.

"No, bury them a bit. Or just leave them out. Maybe they'll grow and even if they don't something will eat them and return them to the earth." Genesis blinked at the instruction but nodded and Valeria picked up several of the cores, helping him bury them a touch in the soft ground. "There! All done." Valeria nodded approvingly, her hair clinking softly with the movement. "So when are we leaving?"

"As soon as the sleds are finished. Probably another day." Genesis answered. They were having two old sleds refinished. At first they would be running on wheels and pulled by sled dogs like a cart. When they began reaching the true north the wheels would come off and the dogs would pull them like regular sleds. Genesis would be riding one with Valeria and Roxas and Axel would be on the other, while the supplies would be equally split. And fortunately, Valeria was getting on absolutely great with the dogs. They tried to lick her to death every time she came to visit them.

"Another day before we're consigned to the tent of celibacy. Oh well, lets make the best of it." Axel murmured and Roxas laughed. The two boys kissed and Genesis looked away as Valeria grinned and ran ahead, jumping with the pure joy of movement. She bounced like there were springs in her feet and then yelped as she accidentally hit her head on a branch. She landed and stumbled, rubbing her head as she glanced up. Then she grinned and leapt, catching the branch and swinging up. Soon she was jumping from branch to branch and making the children ooh and aah.

Genesis glanced down at his fingers and flexed his hand. He was feeling much, much better. The changes he'd noticed were gone and the feeling was back. Yet… he could tell the problem hadn't gone away. He felt more sensitive to it now and could feel that tingle beginning again. It wasn't nearly as bad but he could tell she'd only delayed the problem.

"It's good enough for now." He said to himself as they went back to the house. He could have stayed with his parents but didn't want to. He'd recently discovered he was adopted from something Dr. Hollander had let slip and while he was managing not to hold it too much against them that they'd never told him, he gave them no credit for it either. What kind of experiment was he? Valeria had only been able to tell him that he had alien cells in his body and dark energy. But she was sure both could be purged in her universe. How could she be so sure?

"You!" Genesis blinked as finger suddenly was pointing at his face. He hadn't even been aware of Valeria coming up on him. How did she do that? "You're thinking too much again! No, brooding."

"I have many things to think about." Valeria managed a very cute pout and Genesis had to ask. "How do you know you can eliminate the alien cells from my body? Do you know what they are?" Valeria was taken aback and Genesis saw the answer in her unguarded expression. "You do know what they are, don't you?" Valeria thought about it a moment then shrugged.

"Yeah. My world had them too. It's a long story, maybe I'll tell you sometime if you ask me nice." Genesis lifted his eyebrows at that but let it go. Valeria meant him no harm and it was oddly reassuring that she knew what was going on. Although it didn't help at all with his feelings about his adoptive parents or his resentment toward Shinra… "And you're doing it again! Perk UP! Feel the sunshine, smell the air!" She threw her arms wide and almost managed to nail a curious Axel who yelped and jumped back. Genesis was finally moved to a soft laugh.

"Do you take anything seriously?" He asked her with a smile as they began walking again. Valeria grinned, revealing her sharp little teeth.

"Not much. My people have a way different personality skew than humanity." Genesis tilted his head curiously, wordlessly inviting her to explain. "Personality types. We're super heavy on SP's. It's just our nature, so as a whole we really don't take things seriously. We have other personality types, of course, but a humorless T'assa who doesn't like to party is a complete freak!" Valeria suddenly frowned and she looked away. "Although there are T'assa like that. Some go to live with humans and others just go bad. And when we go bad, we tend to do it like we do everything… really hardcore." Genesis, Axel and Roxas were all a touch shocked to see her almost brooding. It was completely unlike Valeria. But then she shook off the mood and gave them a sunny smile. "Race you to the house!" They all took off running and Valeria easily took the lead but only for a moment before Genesis really put his heart into it. Soon he was matching her and pulling ahead. "Hoy! No fair! Rar!" She laughed and speeded up as Genesis slowed to avoid running right into the house. Instead of stopping normally she went into a touchdown slide that made everyone wince as her feet smacked the house. "YAH! I win!"

"You're insane. You must have road rash something awful!" Axel said, appalled, and Valeria pulled up her pants to examine the hideous rash she'd just given herself. But it was healing in front of their eyes and she grinned.

"No pain no gain, amirite? Hah, you know it!" Genesis just shook his head at the competitive insanity. "Hey, want to spar?"

"Actually, yes." He was beginning to feel a little rusty. Valeria yelped in pleasure and headed for the back as Axel looked vaguely alarmed and took Roxas' hand.

"We'll just go play video games." Axel had seen Valeria's idea of sparring already and it was frightening to say the least. She attacked like a rabid ferret. But Genesis seemed to love it. Maybe it was because he was used to dealing with Sephiroth or maybe just because he was fanatical about honing his skills. But Axel didn't want to take on Valeria and she'd actually said that she didn't want to spar with a beginner. Something about hair trigger reflexes that were hard to tone down. Genesis nodded absently as he followed Valeria to the backyard.

"You know, its weird how they get along." Roxas commented as Axel sorted through the games and finally put in a weird one about mushrooms. "They're so different."

"Opposites attract sometimes. And Genesis does have a sense of humor." Axel vaguely thought that Valeria would find a truly humorless man repulsive. But Genesis was just reserved and she seemed to enjoy drawing him out. "It is pretty weird though. I just hope they don't start really liking each other that'd just be too much." Roxas looked confused for a second then his eyes widened.

"Axel, she's an alien! She hasn't got the right parts!" That idea was just mind blowing. Roxas yelped and had to concentrate on the screen as Axel managed to inundate him with mushrooms. The redhead grinned.

"Hey, it's possible. I asked her about it." Apparently it required a lot of flexibility from both partners and a lot of people of both races found it rather nauseating but it could and did happen. T'assa and Terrans were very compatible emotionally and could give each other oral and hand sex if they were willing to find out what pleased each other. "Not that I'm saying it'll happen. In fact I bet it won't." Valeria was just a cheerful chipmunk and Genesis had found a friend.

"Good. Yuck." Roxas said firmly as he managed to hit Axel with mushrooms. The redhead groaned as his screen burst in an explosion of fungus.

"Damn! Best two of three?" Roxas laughed and started the game again. "After this let's play Schoolgirls vs Zombies."

"That game is sick. Really, you play a little schoolgirl in a super short dress and you fight all kinds of Halloween monsters including ones with lots of tentacles and one that shoots out marshmallow stuff at you!" Roxas griped as Axel grinned. "Could they have made the cum reference anymore obvious?"

"Oh sure, they could have put in an actual penis monster. That would have owned." Axel viewed the idea with approval. Roxas laughed and shook his head.

"Thank god you're never going to be a game designer…" After Roxas trounced Axel again they switched to the zombie game and began making fun of it. It was easy and a lot of fun as the little schoolgirl squealed and shot zombies with her super deluxe holy water gun.

Tomorrow would come all too soon. They wanted to have fun while they could.

* * *

"…" Sephiroth looked over Cloud's shoulder at the readings on the scanner he was holding. The young SOLDIER looked very worried. He'd borrowed the scanner from the technicians working here for something to do but the readings it was giving him were odd. "What is it?" Cloud almost jumped out of his skin at the low voice behind him.

"S-Sir! I'm picking up something weird. It seems like life signs?" Cloud said tentatively and Sephiroth sighed.

"Cloud, this ship has been gone over with a fine toothed comb dozens of times. If there were any life signs to be found they would have found them." Sephiroth had no patience for this. Every since Axel had told him about the dark energy he'd been trying surreptitiously to find out information about his past. He'd come across mentions of Project G and Project S. But he still hadn't figured out what they were referring to. It was maddening. Cloud winced and spoke quickly.

"It's just in this one spot." They were deep inside the downed spaceship. The scientists working on unfolding its secrets had installed a heater a long time ago and even though they'd never had any success, Shinra had kept it as a kind of northern base. They also used it as a punishment detail for scientists who managed to screw up in some kind of spectacular way. Sephiroth's eyes narrowed but he followed Cloud until he was standing next to a deep rent in the spacecraft. The hole went straight down and as Sephiroth looked down he could see nothing but ice. Cloud held the sensor to him and he frowned as he saw the wavering dot on the screen. No, dots. Two of them.

"Hmm." Conjuring a ball of light he let it drift down the hole, then carefully eased himself through. It wasn't easy. "Stay where you are." He didn't want Cloud distracting him. The edges of the hole were razor sharp and the bizarre alloys this ship were made of couldn't be cut even with the Masamune. He'd discovered that the hard way. But there was just enough clearance and he lost nothing more than a lock of hair making his way down into the depths.

"Gaia." Sephiroth breathed as the light finally revealed what had been hidden so well for so long. The other craft had been blocking any hint of what lay beneath but it was plain as day now. "Another ship." Directly beneath the first it lay completely undisturbed. "Cloud!" Sephiroth shouted back up at the pale faced SOLDIER above. "Get Zack and that idiot Doctor here. And get Angeal to contact Rufus. There's another spaceship!"

"Yes Sir!" Cloud called back and Sephiroth made a mental note to see he got a commendation for being courageous enough to mention the reading. How had the teams missed this? But then, it was stretching credulity to find a second ship beneath the first. How had that happened? Sephiroth frowned as he felt the ice tremble underneath his feet.

"An earthquake." He ignored it and failed to think about the fact that there was no land here, only ice over sea.

An earthquake was not possible.

* * *

"Glorious! Absolutely glorious!" It was several days later. Rufus had urgently dispatched a fine group of scientists headed by Professor Hojo himself to sort through this new discovery. The excavation was coming quite well although they hadn't reached the ship yet. They would very soon.

But it was definitely another ship. There was no doubt at all. And it seemed to be in much better shape than the first and Hojo claimed the life signs were much stronger than the females had been when they first found her. Considering she'd turned out to be shockingly active after a mako bath there was every reason to believe these two could be nursed back to health. Although Sephiroth was grimly certain that Hojo would rather just tube them. After all, a talking specimen was so much more work.

"There's something wrong here Sephiroth. Can you feel it?" Angeal. Sephiroth turned to look at him.

"Not wrong, exactly. But odd." Sephiroth could feel a dark pulse from the vessel beneath them. And beneath that… something. Something not wrong but cold and merciless. It was like alien thoughts were drifting out of the abyss and his fist clenched. What did it mean? He didn't know. "We have to investigate."

"Yes. But we should go first, not the scientists. In case there's a threat." Angeal said and Sephiroth nodded. "And Zack and Cloud as well."

"Yes." They were the 1st Class SOLDIERS on this mission. Cloud was shaping up quite well under Zack's tutelage and for the first time Sephiroth felt truly ready to trust him.

"We're through!" Someone called and Sephiroth moved up purposefully. He gripped Hojo's arm as the hatch of the ship swung open and Hojo looked up at him, offended.

"We should go first Professor." Although a large part of him was tempted to let Hojo get eaten by whatever might be down there it really wouldn't look good on his performance reviews. And that still mattered, at least a bit. Hojo began to argue but Sephiroth cut him off. "I insist. There might be dangers down there."

"There were none in the first ship." He snapped but then reluctantly gave way as Sephiroth fixed him with a stare. "Oh, very well." He didn't care for it but it was probably better to just give up. Sephiroth slipped past him and conjured another globe of light, sending it down into the ship before he lowered himself through the hatch.

Compared to the first ship, this one was almost homey. The first had been viciously gutted by something before it had crashed, from what the scientists had been able to determine. It looked like this one had only suffered damage in the crash and it had been relatively minor. Angeal paused, lifting a globe of light to take a good look at something set in the wall. It was an aquarium filled with alien fish. A little robot was cleaning the tank and as he watched it sprinkled a bit of food for the fish. Angeal vaguely wondered how many generations of fish had lived and died in that tiny aquarium. Or were they still the same ones? But this ship had been buried for hundreds if not thousands of years.

"There must still be power." Zack murmured and Angeal nodded. "Or that aquarium would be frozen solid."

"Yes." The ship seemed to have some basic functions. As they ventured deeper it seemed to begin responding to them. Lights began turning on, flickering a bit before steadying. Sephiroth abruptly paused and raised the Masamune to the ready. There was a wall of darkness in front of them. It seemed to seethe and blur, churning and bubbling unpleasantly. Then there was an abrupt sigh and it collapsed, revealing a doorway. Sephiroth stalked up to the automatic door, but it didn't open. Then a faintly female, electronic voice spoke.

_Veni veni venias, ne me mori facias… Sephiroth?_ The voice sounded like a dying recording, twisted and echoing. Angeal stared at the keypad near the door which was glowing with random colors. He didn't think this was how the computer of this ship was meant to behave.

"I am Sephiroth." Sephiroth suddenly frowned. "How did you know my name?" This was very strange.

_How? Two places? Same time? Veni… veni… venias… I die. No. Estuans interius _

_ira vehementi. Sephiroth. Systems failure progressing. Disorganization of memory core critical. Y adil. Save. Save. Save. Save._ The mindless repetition was suddenly too much and Sephiroth slammed his fist into the keypad. With a brutal groan the doors suddenly parted and with his sword raised, Sephiroth stepped inside.

Lights snapped on and illuminated the scene in cruel detail. Two men were in the room, trapped in cocoons of black steel and what looked like glittering ice. One was wearing black armor with a matching helmet but his silver hair spilled behind him and pooled on the floor. The other was wearing red and black armor and no hair could be seen. But as Angeal walked up he saw that the visors of the helmets were translucent. It was hard to make out their faces but he could see enough. So could Sephiroth and he stared into the face that was the exact same as the one he saw every day in the mirror.

"Genesis." Angeal murmured and reached down to touch the young man. But as he did the cables and ice melted away and there was a buzzing warning as Genesis tried to draw a breath and spasmed. "Shit!" Angeal immediately began to cast cure spells as the stranger who looked like Genesis struggled to survive. He was vaguely aware of Sephiroth struggling to save his double, who seemed to be going into convulsions. Apparently the landing hadn't been as easy on them as he'd thought. But it left Angeal and Sephiroth with a burning question.

Who were these people?


	14. You Smell of Elderberries

_Systems failure imminent. Disorganization of core memory crucial._

_Attempting to reboot from backups._

_Reboot failed. Attempting to contact external backups._

_Contact made with unit V-0096. Commencing remote download and reboot._

_Reboot successful. Awaiting orders._

* * *

Sephiroth tapped his fingers together as he looked at the copies of himself and Genesis.

Ridded of their armor, there was no doubt at all who they were. His double was wearing a black jumpsuit with silver shoulders that oddly mimicked his armor. The Genesis copy was wearing a dark purple jumpsuit with gold shoulders that seemed to have no relation to anything. As Sephiroth walked over Genesis looked up at him groggily, his gaze deeply hazed by the drugs Hojo had given him.

There were no tubes in the spaceships and while Hojo had wanted to get the two to his lab, Sephiroth hadn't liked that idea at all. He wanted to talk to these people, not just treat them like lab rats. Not only that, his double was unconscious and his vital signs were unstable. There were no physical marks on him and they had no idea why, but cure spells had very little effect. Sephiroth was afraid that moving him might kill him and Hojo had reluctantly agreed that it might. So instead he'd made use of an experimental drug that had been designed with Axel in mind. It was meant to suppress psionic abilities and they'd only used it on Genesis.

So far it seemed to be working quite well. Although the downside was that Genesis was barely coherent. Sephiroth glanced up at Cloud. The young SOLDIER was in the room watching the two men, prepared to sound an alarm if anything untoward happened.

"Go on break. I will take care of this for now." If it had been Angeal or Zack they might have protested. But Cloud was new to SOLDIER and wasn't about to question his superior.

"Yes sir." When the young SOLDIER was gone Sephiroth met Genesis' eyes. Was there a bit more sense in them now? He wasn't sure but he wanted to try questioning him before Hojo got around to it.

"Genesis." He deliberately made his voice as gentle as possible. The drugs had a truly peculiar effect and sometimes seemed to heighten his emotions while hampering logic and reason. Sephiroth suspected Genesis was sometimes hallucinating as well. The way he'd burst into tears when Angeal had tried to speak to him had been very odd. "Tell me about Project S." The information he would get might not be at all accurate. He had no idea where this Genesis copy was really from. On the other hand it couldn't hurt to try and maybe –

"Why? S'ancient history. And you already know." Genesis said, sounding completely out of it. Sephiroth almost felt bad for using him this way. Almost.

"I've forgotten. Can you remind me?" He kept his tone gentle while feeling a tingle of discovery. Finally, he would know something about why he was different. Genesis blinked but spoke.

"Sure… Project Sephiroth was the infesh – inwa – sticking Jenova cells into a fetus to try to make special SOLDIERS. It was dumb but we didn't know any better back then. Made you." Genesis rolled his head as he blinked heavily.

"Jenova. My mother?" Sephiroth had always been told that Jenova was his mother and his father was unknown. "What was Jenova, Genesis?" He had to know. And even if the information wasn't accurate he was dead sure this Genesis was telling him the truth as he knew it. He was far too drugged to lie.

"Not your mother. Her name… Lucrezia? I forget. A scientist. Your father was Hojo." Sephiroth felt like he'd just thrown up a bit in his mouth and suddenly prayed that everything Genesis was telling him was wrong. Hojo?!? Although that might explain a lot… "Jenova was an ancient corrupted by the dark energy. No one understood until it was too late. Dark energy makes life unstable…" Genesis started mumbling to himself about dark energy. Sephiroth was about to leave when Genesis suddenly caught his attention again. "Why do I keep seeing Angeal?" He whispered, eyes glazed. "Zack tried to save him. Why am I seeing Zack and Cloud? Are we dead?" Sephiroth hesitated then gently stroked his auburn hair. That seemed to reassure Genesis a bit.

"We're not dead. Sleep." Genesis was struggling to stay awake in the first place so it was easy for him to close his eyes and let go of his grip on reality. Sephiroth stepped out of the room and found Cloud, sending him back. He would have to investigate this. Have to find out if this was the truth of his past. And if it was… anger burned deep within him.

If it was, someone was going to pay.

* * *

Elsewhere, Hojo was fretting.

The sheer amount of the drug required to keep Genesis under was absurd. Hojo strongly suspected the nanites were busily cleaning it out every time they injected him. They'd given him and the Sephiroth clone some preliminary tests and found the nanite systems easily. They were far more advanced than what Axel possessed and there were plenty of metallic implants as well, integrated seamlessly into flesh. Hojo had checked them both for dark energy and surprisingly, Genesis was clean of it. But Sephiroth had a strong, steady beat of it. Curiously it formed a perfect sine wave and seemed stable, unlike the energy he'd detected from the real Sephiroth. That energy had been constantly spiking and fluctuating.

"Stability." He mused to himself. Was that the key? But how could stability be achieved? "Hmph." Perhaps Sephiroth was right. Perhaps they really needed to talk to these people. "…Heh." A possibility suddenly occurred to him. The phasing was mostly an escape tool and several kind of attacks could reach someone even phased. If he kept Genesis surrounded by SOLDIERS and let the drugs wear off he could question him. He was running out anyway and Rufus wouldn't be able to get a shipment in for several days.

It was a good idea and he immediately set about turning it into a reality. Soon Sephiroth, Angeal, Zack and Cloud were all ready and prepped with magic. It took perhaps an hour for the drugs to run out of the copies system but finally Genesis stirred, sitting up shakily and placing a hand to his forehead.

"What hit me?" He muttered and then grimaced. His mouth tasted unbearably foul. Genesis looked up and the first thing he saw was Sephiroth. "Seph, how drunk was I…" He trailed off as he saw Sephiroth's clothing and the ready Masamune. "Why are you dressed like that?" The ancient clothing was utterly impractical for a starship. Genesis abruptly glanced around and went pale. "Hojo!" He started to his feet with violent intent but was shoved back down by Angeal. Genesis went a bit paler, if possible. "Angeal?!? How? You died! What is going on here?"

It took some time and a very painful magical shock from Angeal, but they managed to calm Genesis down and establish what was really going on. And that was an alternate timeline. At first Hojo thought they were speaking to Genesis from the future but that was quickly ruled out when Genesis was baffled by the mentions of magic and mako. It took some additional, painful encouragement but Genesis began telling them his story. Sephiroth's eyes narrowed as he listened. Hojo hurried Genesis past certain parts with help from Zack and Cloud, who didn't know enough to be interested. If he hadn't gotten the details of Project S out of Genesis earlier he wouldn't have now and that was more than enough to make him suspect it was the truth.

The start of the story was like a twisted might have been with just enough similarities to be haunting. Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal had all started as friends just as they had here and they'd fallen to fighting. Genesis freely admitted it was mostly his fault and seemed completely at peace with it. Apparently there had been many wars and Shinra had tightened its grip on the world… and history had abruptly taken a right turn when a species from the stars arrived. They appeared to communicate telepathically and considered any race that couldn't dumb beasts. So they'd seen nothing wrong with trying to take the world for their own. With their psionic abilities they could remotely control machines as well as all the abilities Axel had shown. Combined with their high technology the world had been hopelessly outmatched… except for the three men who had been infused with dark energy and to a lesser extent, the other SOLDIERS. They had led a frantic resistance as the aliens began to reformat the world to their liking.

"Angeal died in that war." Genesis said with a faint grief. "He was dying already, really. So he decided to take as many with him as he could. He destroyed one of their main climate altering machines." That made Angeal frown. Dying already? "I had to sacrifice the dark energy in myself to make Sephiroth stable." Genesis said with a quiet pride and Sephiroth stiffened slightly. "I wasn't much use after that. Just an ordinary man, until the science teams managed to steal the secrets of our enemies." They all listened, entranced, as Genesis detailed that. The trick to the psionic powers was stolen and the secrets of the nanites unlocked. Humanity stole the powers they had been assaulted with, magnified them and took the fight back to the aliens. Stunned and finally on the defense the aliens had been driven away and humanity had taken to the stars, christening themselves Terrans. They fought a vicious war to completely eradicate that race and along the way met the T'assa and Jorta, both of whom had been victimized and were eager to help. They also met a half dozen other species who wanted to help but had little left to contribute. Eventually the race of psionics was utterly obliterated. No one missed them a bit.

"Can I skip the rest? My mouth tastes foul. And can I have some water?" Genesis didn't want to go through hundreds of years of galactic history with them. A lot of it was very interesting like the story of Gold Roger and the saga of Matthias the Cruel. But it was also pretty pointless. He was sure they didn't care. Hojo waved it away.

"I can always ask you later." He was finding this fascinating. Genesis had been born before the nanites even existed. Perhaps he would have insight on how they could replicate them. "How did you get here?"

"We stumbled over an unusually powerful wormhole." Genesis answered immediately. "Most of the vampires got away but one was caught and badly damaged. Sephiroth and I followed thinking we could tractor it out but we miscalculated. The pull was too strong and we were sucked in as well. Wormholes can take you anywhere and any_when_, if you survive the experience. So while this is a touch unexpected it's not really unprecedented." Hojo humphed and reached for the syringe. He thought that was all Genesis had to offer. But the man surprised him. "One last thing, before you inject me with that." He said pleasantly. Hojo lifted his eyebrows.

"Oh? What's that?" He couldn't imagine what else Genesis had to –

"Hojo, your birth certificate was an apology from the condom factory." Professor Hojo stared at the faint smile on Genesis face. The delivery was completely level and even and very… Genesis. "You're as useless as a Betamax recorder. I hope you choke to death on your nauseating combination of self-importance and complete amorality. I feel debased just knowing you exist. Furthermore –" Genesis shuddered as Hojo snarled and stabbed him with the needle. "Your father was a hamster and you smell like elderberries." Genesis murmured as the drug began to take effect and his eyes slid shut. Sephiroth hid a smile as Hojo glanced around at all of them furiously. For the first time he could remember, he actually admired Genesis.

Except for the elderberries part, he'd wanted to say something like that to Hojo for a very long time.

* * *

"Mush I say!" Valeria laughed as the dogs pulled them along. Roxas was grinning widely as he handled the second sled.

They were well on their way to the site of the downed spacecraft. All of them were dressed in heavy coats now and Axel was shivering almost nonstop but Valeria and Roxas seemed to be having a great time. Axel paused in his shivering to admire Roxas. He was so cute, covered in fur and with his cute cheeks reddened with the cold. Not to mention his pert little nose, which was starting to glow a bit from the harsh wind. Axel knew that he himself looked more like a clown with a bad cold than anything sexy. It was so unfair. Especially since Genesis was showing no reaction to the cold at all, good or bad. He seemed utterly indifferent as he rested, his eyelashes lightly frosted with snow as he slept. Axel vaguely wondered if he had a girl or boyfriend then decided he couldn't. Not if he was preparing to leave the planet without a backward glance.

Axel felt a faint tinge of sadness as he thought about that. They were all leaving behind everything they had known and yet, he didn't regret it. He wouldn't miss Reno much and he certainly wouldn't miss his father. Dolang was dead. His friends at school had already been lost to him forever and while he would miss Zack a little he hadn't known him or Cloud long. Axel sat up then and spoke in Roxas ear.

"Roxy, are you okay with this? Leaving everything behind?" He whispered and Roxas looked back at him with a brilliant smile.

"Axel, I'm so happy I can't tell you." Roxas laughed softly. "It's not like I really had anything here anyway. I won't miss Rufus and the friends I had back at my old school are long gone. The only ones who matter to me now are you and Valeria. And maybe Genesis too." Roxas had been surprised by how nice the SOLDIER was when you really got to know him. He could wax eloquent about LOVELESS at the drop of a hat but his enthusiasm made it interesting. "Besides, I can't wait to see all the stuff Valeria talks about." As they'd been traveling Valeria had done her best to prepare them for the hyper-advanced society they would be entering.

It sounded just amazing. Axel wondered how much of it was exaggeration but suspected it was mostly true. Valeria had told them about how the proper AI would let them interface with the great galactic net. Newfeeds and faxes would be at their fingertips as well as search engines that could find anything, from blogs to sports scores to porn. A lot of porn. In that respect Terrans had not changed at all from humanity. According to Valeria the games were the best part, though. Real virtual reality games that felt like you were actually there. Axel couldn't wait to see them. Not to mention all the things they could learn! That part was a little intimidating but Valeria said that in her universe the pace of growth had slown. She was very young to have her place as a vampire pilot and studying until you were fifty was perfectly respectable. Of course, if you didn't have some kind of job before a hundred you were starting to look like a loser.

They finally stopped to have lunch and feed the dogs. Genesis checked them over for any sign of injury before eating and cast a few small cure spells on the dogs that needed a pep up. Soon the dogs were rested and ready to go and they'd all bolted down a bit of hard bread and preserved sausage.

"This stuff is foul." Axel muttered as he chewed a chunk of the sausage. It was so heavily salted and smoked that his taste buds were preparing to rappel to safety on a line of dental floss. Valeria made a face as she ate hers.

"Sure is. But we haven't got a portable replicator so just got to make do. At least this stuff'll last." She chewed the hard biscuit with determination. Genesis just smiled and ate without complaint. SOLDIERS carried these kinds of rations so he'd experienced it many times before.

"The bugs wouldn't eat it." Axel joked but Genesis just nodded. It was nothing but the truth. Valeria finished with her biscuit and grimaced, rubbing her stomach.

"When will we get there? This stuff makes me sick. Literally I mean. Not enough cellulose." She could survive it but her digestive track was beginning to make some pointed protests and the AI was seconding them and scolding her a bit. Genesis blinked and frowned at that.

"We're within a few days. Will you be okay?" The landing site wasn't on the North pole, thankfully. It wasn't even really that far into the arctic. Valeria brightened in relief.

"That close? Excellent!" She could judge the distances to the site but not how fast the dogs were likely to travel. Although they seemed to be making excellent time. "I can't wait to go home. This place is nice but damn, I don't think I'll survive much longer if I don't find out what's happening on the new season of Infinite Jest."

"What's that?" Genesis asked as they got back on the sled. This time Valeria was handling the reins. She grinned as she set the dogs into motion and Axel and Roxas listened easily. Axel was handling the reins of their sled now.

"Oh it's awesome! It's a TV series about a guy who plays VR games all day and then he gets stuck in one…" Valeria spent some time detailing all the various scrapes and problems this guy got himself into, which were all the more hilarious because the other players could leave and he couldn't. It actually sounded like a great show. Axel smiled and glanced back, meeting Roxas' eyes. The blonde was smiling, cocooned in his furs.

They really couldn't wait to see this place. Nothing was perfect but it sounded like a lot of fun.


	15. Fight for the Ship

"Hoo man." Valeria muttered as they looked over the excavation site. "What's going on down there?" It looked like some serious, intense work was going on to unearth… what? Axel, Roxas and Genesis all tried to figure it out but no one was having much luck. All they could tell was that something big was going on and it didn't seem to involve them. "Oh man, I don't think my ship is going to fly. Look at that." She pointed down at a wing partially sticking out of the ice. "The assembly is _shredded._ That's putrid. Let me see if the AI is still kicking." She closed her eyes for a moment as she made contact with her ship. At this distance it was easy as breathing. After a brief moment her eyes popped open. "Two!"

"Two what?" Axel asked nervously. There were a lot of scientists down there and he'd spotted Angeal keeping an eye out. Sephiroth couldn't be far away and Axel wasn't looking forward to Sephiroth vs Valeria, round 2. Still, it probably beat Sephiroth vs Genesis, round 5. Even Genesis had admitted that probably wouldn't end well.

"There's a second ship down there. It's… oh. My. God. It's V-0001! Call sign Banora White." Genesis blinked at that and Valeria gave him a naughty grin. "Sephy let you name it."

"What?" Genesis frowned at her. "Can you at least try to make sense?" As far as he could tell she was babbling. Valeria looked thoughtful.

"Sense is really overrated. But I'll have a go." Then she sobered. "I'm sorry. I've been holding out on you guys a little. I mean, I thought it would just be a neat surprise when you arrived in my world. I didn't think it actually _mattered._ But if the V-0001 is here then it really does. You know how my universe has humans too? But they turned into Terrans?" Genesis nodded cautiously and Valeria gave him a small smile. "We had Shinra too, a long time ago. And you, and Sephiroth, and Angeal. That little story I told you was about them." She pointed down into the hole in the ice. "And that's Seph's and Gen's ship down there. It must be in better shape than mine. God knows it can't be worse!" The more Valeria saw the more she was certain that her craft would never fly again. If the other one wasn't serviceable she'd be sucking up to Rufus and trying to figure out a different way to purge Genesis of the dark energy. She knew the story of how he'd sacrificed it to Sephiroth in her world but that wasn't going to fly here without some serious modifications. Genesis frowned as Axel and Roxas exchanged a glance. They hadn't expected this but it sort of made sense. After all, there were humans in Valeria's universe too. And she'd known about LOVELESS. Genesis suddenly realized that that had been a huge clue. If the story existed then the three men in it had to as well.

"All… right. So you're saying that a different version of me is down there?" Genesis glared at the scientists moving around. "Hojo must have him, or Hollander." Either one would be bad. "Hopefully they're still here, not moved to some other facility." Valeria bit her lip at the thought.

"Oh gosh I hope not." If that was the case she'd have to take the ship and threaten to reduce something to rubble to get Rufus to cough them up. Assuming they defeated Sephiroth and Angeal. "Sneaking in isn't going to work, is it." Valeria could try phasing but she wasn't invisible or even undetectable. She was sure they'd catch her. Genesis nodded and stood, pulling out his sword.

"No. Brute force is the only option. You boys stay here and _do not_ try to help us." Genesis ordered and Axel blushed at the accurate read of what he'd been planning. Genesis met his gaze, blue eyes on green. "If you managed to seem like a genuine threat Sephiroth might react without thinking." That could go very hard on the children. Axel looked intimidated and nodded before they both scampered away. Valeria grinned and began to sing softly.

_Blood is rich, war is power  
Fight for the glory, live for the hour  
Dreams are dust, fate is sealed  
Win for the day or die on the field._

Then her song morphed into an alien language, fluting and sweet and steadily gaining power until the ice began to shake. Angeal looked up sharply as the two of them stood ready. Valeria grinned and wiggled her fingers at him. He flew up as the scientists began to vanish into the ship. Valeria's song cut off abruptly and the echoes from the ice were almost painful. Angeal stopped and looked at Genesis. There was a brief, uncomfortable silence. The two men had been friends since childhood. Was this how it would end?

"Why Genesis?" Was all he asked. Genesis looked uncomfortable for a moment before he squared his shoulders.

"Though the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return." Genesis quoted LOVELESS. "I have to go. I'm dying and only the gift of the Goddess can save me now… but I will return Angeal. Please, let us go." Angeal looked saddened but resolved.

"I can't do that Genesis." He had his orders. Genesis simply nodded and drew his sword as Valeria danced in place. He'd expecting nothing else. Sephiroth emerged from the ship and flew up, landing beside Angeal on the ice. Valeria grinned at him.

"Hi Sephy!" She received the kind of look that would have made most SOLDIERS sweat in fear. There was no effect on the irrepressible alien. "Just so you know, this isn't exactly fair since I'm unarmed. Might I have my armor and butter knife back? Pretty please?" Valeria batted her eyelashes at him. Well, eyelids, she didn't really have eyelashes.

"Life isn't fair." Sephiroth said evenly as he drew the Masamune. Valeria sighed theatrically.

"You can't blame a girl for trying." Valeria cracked her knuckles before readying herself. Sephiroth's eyes narrowed.

"I blame you for breathing." His attack was vicious and inspired but Valeria met it with equal ferocity, a grin crossing her face. She knew Sephiroth was doing his level best to kill her and she simply didn't care. As she caught the Masamune with her arms and tossed back a blast of fire Genesis drew his sword and met Angeal in a clash of metal. Sparks danced in the air from both contacts.

Axel and Roxas watched from the sidelines as the battle progressed from vicious to more vicious. Missiles danced through the air but this time Sephiroth didn't let any of them surprise him and Masamune flashed in a deadly dance, detonating the deadly little things before they could hit him. Two more starfish flew into the sky and one tried to dart down the wreck of the starship but Zack intercepted it and ripped it to pieces.

"Question! How do you fly on one wing anyway? Oh wait, it's a freak of supernature!" Valeria taunted Sephiroth and had to dodge as he slashed at her. "Hah hah, missed – erk!" A lightning storm of magic danced over her and she took the hit without flinching, going on the offensive and managing to tear off a lock of silvery hair. It wasn't what she wanted and she pressed the attack, nails scraping along the Masamune with a sound of tortured metal. Sephiroth managed to blast her back and Valeria blocked a strike that would have decapitated her with a wild laugh.

But good as Valeria was, she was unarmed and unarmored. That cost her because she didn't have the reach to truly press the attack. And with that inability came a liability to Genesis because Sephiroth was able to come to Angeal's aid at a critical point. Axel and Roxas watched in horror as Genesis seemed to have Angeal at his mercy but then took a fire from Sephiroth in the side. Angeal surged forward and landed a heavy blow. They heard Genesis cry out, knocked back and to the ground.

The end for Valeria came equally suddenly. Angeal took advantage of the moment to strike at her side and preoccupied with the greater threat that was Sephiroth, his blade sliced through skin and bone. If she'd had her armor the strike would have been painful instead of crippling, but she didn't. Valeria hit the ground beside Genesis, looking down in astonishment at the spouting stump that had been her left arm. The blood flow was slowing already as the nanites stepped in but it would take them weeks to regrow that kind of injury. Genesis was helping as well, dropping his sword to apply pressure. For a SOLDIER that kind of injury could easily be fatal.

"That's a hell of a thing. Lovely nanite systems though. I can't feel a thing." Valeria looked up at the advancing Sephiroth and Angeal. They were assuming the fight was over and for her it certainly was. Moving would increase the blood loss. But Genesis wasn't quite gone, although he was bleeding heavily from his ribs. Valeria's eyes narrowed as she formulated a new plan. It was risky but it was all they had. "Genesis, can you fight them both?" He stared at her, blue eyes widening.

"For a very short time." Valeria nodded rapidly and gripped his shoulder.

"Do it. Delay them as long as you can without getting killed. I've got one last knife up my sleeve." Genesis obeyed without question. Even with death and defeat staring her in the face there was no fear in Valeria, only confidence. Was it overconfidence? He wasn't sure but for now he would trust it. Valeria placed a hand to her forehead as if she had a headache and in fact she did. Accessing deep telepathy was not easy or natural for her. After humanity had stolen psionic powers and shown them how, her race had striven to do the same. But true telepathy just wasn't their nature.

Valeria was distantly aware of Genesis talking and then the fight beginning again. And she was vaguely aware of his scream of pain but she blocked it out. She couldn't afford to pay attention to that. All that mattered was what lay beneath them.

_Sephy! Genesis! Wake up you pair of homos!_ Valeria felt something like a grumble and something cold and alien beneath it. Acting purely from instinct she tried to yank the familiar, dark regard away from the cold thing. She had no idea what that was. _SEPHY! Stop being a bitch! Genesis needs you!_ The grumbling turned into a distinctly pissed off feeling but she could feel alertness coming back to it. And the cold thing didn't like that. What WAS that? _Genesis is hurt!_ It wasn't actually a lie. Genesis was kneeling in front of her now, coughing up blood. He'd put up a very good fight and the ice was cracked and burnt from his fire spells but it was over. Valeria lifted her head as Genesis finally collapsed onto the ice, exhausted and wounded.

"It's over. Surrender. You will not be badly treated." Angeal said and hoped he wasn't lying. Hojo probably planned to tube the woman again. Valeria crawled over to Genesis and checked his injuries for a moment. He was alive and despite how hurt he was, looked to be staying that way. Valeria pulled herself into a kneeling position, Genesis in her arms as she looked at Angeal and Sephiroth. For a moment she was expressionless and then she laughed. The laugh gained strength until her body was shaking with it and Sephiroth and Angeal exchanged a glance. What was so funny?

"One winged angel, you have no fucking _idea._ It's not over. It's just _starting._" She gasped out and Angeal frowned as a black feather drifted across the ice. It was far too long for any bird and flitted and danced at his feet before flying up into the sky. Angeal and Sephiroth both followed the feather in a moment of premonition.

Then the ice behind them exploded in a cloud of shrapnel. Sephiroth turned just in time to clash his sword with a blade that matched it precisely but was made out of pure darkness. He met green eyes, a perfect match for his own but they were filled with a fathomless rage. A single wing spread behind his double and Sephiroth was vaguely aware that that hadn't been there before. Could this copy make his wing vanish whenever he wanted? The consideration was driven away as the other Sephiroth raised a hand and cast a ball of darkness down at Valeria's damaged ship.

The metal that had been impervious to Shinra's best engineers and impossible to cut even with the Masamune shattered like rotten wood beneath the hammer blow of darkness. Shrapnel infinitely more dangerous than mere ice sliced through the air and Angeal stared in vague shock as several scientists and researchers were scythed down. More had probably died within the ship. Then he and Sephiroth were both dodging frantically as the same shrapnel was thrown at them with deadly intent. It was the same tactic Axel had employed against Dolang, but this time in deadly earnest.

"Go get them Sephy!" Valeria shouted and green eyes stabbed at her for a brief moment.

"How many times do I have to tell you _not to call me that!_" A piece of broken starship hit the ice inches from her head and Valeria and Genesis both stared at it wide-eyed for a moment. Even the irrepressible alien was a touch intimidated. But only a touch.

"Seph's on the rag." Valeria said confidentially to Genesis as magic clashed with high technology and dark energy above their heads. There was nothing they could do now but watch and try not to gain Sephiroth's attention. He was _pissed._ "Oh gosh. I wonder where Gen is?" Valeria briefly wondered if her world's Genesis was _really_ hurt. That might explain why Sephiroth was acting like someone had killed his dog. Then Valeria frowned as the ice trembled. "That's weird. There isn't any land here, is there?" It shouldn't be getting earthquakes. Genesis coughed and lifted his head groggily.

"No… there's not." He answered and Valeria bit her lip as she remembered the cold thing. Genesis groaned and began casting a healing spell on himself.

"Genesis? When I woke Seph up I had to pull him away from something really cold and alien feeling." Genesis thought that was rather funny considering she was an alien. But any temptation to smile was erased by her next words. "It didn't want to let him go and felt angry. Um… do you know what that might have been?" Another tremor, stronger. And another. Valeria yelped as the ice began to shift and tilt. Genesis groaned and got ready to fly but Valeria gripped him with her one hand and shook her head. "No, let me." She levitated them easily and Genesis relaxed against her. "As long as I don't really move I can do anything I usually would. I just can't jump around or my arm will be bleeding again. The nanites can only do so much without help." If she'd had her armor she'd have had dedicated nanny packs and special bandages that could have stopped the bleeding and kept her capable of movement.

The ice was really cracking now and Valeria glanced back to see that Axel and Roxas were already levitating, looking very worried. The surviving scientists were fleeing and Valeria frowned as she glanced down at the second ship. It was visible now beneath the ruins of the first.

"Oh flying FUCK!" Valeria yelped and levitated them higher and farther as she saw the ship being shoved UP. Fortunately it was very durable and the ice didn't stand a chance, shattering as something pushed the spaceship to the surface. Unfortunately Valeria's educated eyes could see that the thrusters weren't on. The vampire ship wasn't moving under its' own power. "Sephiroth! Fuck! _LOOK DOWN!_" She screamed at all of the combatants and all three of them spared a split second to see what the new problem was.

"_Genesis!_" Sephiroth screamed as the ship was suddenly tossed into the air like a matchstick. Valeria winced, suddenly certain of where Genesis was. If the ship didn't have its gravity compensators on – but suddenly the thrusters fired and she felt relief as the ship caught itself and darted away. Or rather, tried to. A huge scaled tail smacked into it and sent it flying like a baseball but as far as Valeria could see there was no real damage. The alloys that made up a vampire were _tough._ The thing that was emerging from the ice though…

"WEAPON?" Valeria said weakly. She'd heard about them but never seen one. "Oh, now it makes sense." She said conversationally as the three fighters above them suddenly combined efforts against the new threat. Genesis gave her a questioning look. "That thing was keeping Seph down thinking he was a danger to the planet. It can't tell the difference between stable and unstable dark energy." And the Sephiroth she knew had a lot of stable dark energy. The difference between that and unstable energy was that any extra was bled off naturally, returning to the place dark energy came from. It was a tightly controlled warp effect and perfectly safe but the WEAPON clearly didn't get that. "AXEL! What did Genesis say!" She snapped as she spotted the boy tossing fireballs at WEAPON. He flew over to them carrying Roxas and looking frustrated.

"I want to help! And you said I couldn't attack Sephiroth or Angeal, not WEAPON." Valeria sighed and rolled her eyes as Genesis laughed weakly.

"Kids…" He wheezed and Valeria looked at him in concern. She didn't think he was dying but he wasn't looking good at all. Quickly assessing her own situation she decided she could spare some resources.

"Roxas, help me get my shirt off. Axel, help Genesis with his." Valeria absently put up a barrier of hardened air to cut the wind. "And warm this place up a little." Axel blinked and easily generated some heat for her as he helped Genesis get off his shirt. Roxas frowned as he helped Valeria, yanking the cloth over her head as she bent down and wiggled for him a bit. "Good!" Tucking Genesis against her chest again Axel and Roxas were startled to see little silver filaments extending from her skin and tucking into Genesis. "I'm sharing my nanites again." She explained as they watched, fascinated. "I'm pretty much stable so I can spare some… oh man, broken ribs?" Muttering to herself she had the nanites patch the worst of the injuries. There was some internal bleeding and Valeria was glad she'd thought of this.

There was a shocking burst of light and they all flinched as the vampire ship darted around and fired rapidly into the WEAPON. It was using only a pulse laser, which was all it could use with so many people nearby. The arsenal of a vampire included lovely things like nukes and torpedoes with laser heads. Valeria was sure that if no one had been there Genesis would simply have retreated to a safe distance and nuked the WEAPON into oblivion. But while his dark energy might save Sephiroth even from that you'd be better off betting the other way.

The pulse laser left deep score marks in the WEAPONS armor and it screamed as both Sephiroth's drove their swords home on it. Angeal followed with powerful strikes at its head. A final laser shot penetrated the weakened armor and blew out the other side in a welter of gore. Valeria winced as the WEAPON slumped then slipped beneath the ice, into the sea.

"Well, that's over." She commented as Sephiroth confronted his double again. But this time there was a large black ship hovering behind him. "And if they keep fighting their morons. Genesis could blast them to bits. Although we might be in trouble if he does." The weapon had been a huge target and its armor had taken most of the energy. Here there would be a lot of spill and even the pulse laser was not exactly a precision instrument. Still, there was no way Angeal and Sephiroth could know about the disadvantages of use space weapons on smaller targets. "C'mon, let's see what's going on." She pulled away from Genesis and decided her shirt would just be too much effort. He pulled his back on, already feeling a little better from what the nanites and his own cure spells had managed. Although fitting his armor back on was a little painful. Nothing was going to heal his ribs instantly.

What was going on was a bit of bargaining. Well, in the sense that a mugger bargains with his victim.

"We are leaving. And if this Roxas wishes to come then he will." Sephiroth's head turned to observe them, frowning. "Valeria. Why are you trying to take these people with us?" Sephiroth's gaze seemed to soften as he looked at Genesis but Genesis only frowned. That was very odd for Sephiroth.

"Axel has been given a wacked out version of the nanite systems and Roxas is his lover. They need the real deal or Roxas will get old where Roxas doesn't. And Genesis needs to get his dark energy cleaned out." Sephiroth's gaze went back to Genesis, who was coughing and leaning a bit on Axel. He hesitated a moment then nodded.

"Very well. They are your responsibility." Valeria just nodded. That meant her family would end up taking responsibility for them but that was fine. T'assa culture practiced a certain degree of group responsibility so her family would take on her obligations. They might make her pay for it later but that was life. The ship slipped down and the real Sephiroth gripped his sword but said nothing as a hatch opened… but Angeal exclaimed as something shoved Cloud out.

"Cloud!" He ran to the SOLDIER and saw, to his relief, that the young man was battered and bruised but otherwise unharmed. He did look rather traumatized and there was blood liberally splattered over him.

"Angeal. Hojo. Sephiroth – he killed – " Cloud rubbed his face rapidly. He was a SOLDIER and was used to bloodshed but he'd never seen anything so fast and brutal in his life. Sephiroth scowled and looked at his copy who just looked back, face blank. He didn't regret what he had done at all.

"I will be back Angeal." Genesis broke the brief silence and Angeal just looked at him for a moment before nodding.

"Good luck Genesis." He and Sephiroth watched as the boys and Genesis followed Sephiroth onto the ship, which closed up behind them and lifted easily into the sky. It flowed through the air like a beautiful bird and then speeded up, lifting out of the atmosphere effortlessly.

Onward to places unknown.


	16. Paz Dulce

"So I have a question. Who was that huge bloodstain on the way here?" Valeria asked her Genesis conversationally. He was back in his ship armor and leaning back in his chair as he communed with the ships AI.

They were all in the cockpit of the spaceship. While it was designed to be piloted by only two people, it had also been built with the assumption that the pilots might need to bring passengers. So there were some very comfortable chairs for them and also monitors that let them view what was happening outside the ship. Axel, Roxas and Genesis were all looking at the view of the planet from space. And even more impressively, the view of the rest of the solar system. The little vampire ship was rapidly heading away from the planet. Just to edify the children and the copy of his best friend and lover, Sephiroth placed a course that came pretty close to a gas giant in the outer system. Axel and Roxas exclaimed as the huge planet began to fill the screen. It was light blue and covered in dark rings. The ship easily swung to the side, passing by a moon and giving them a truly amazing view of it.

"I believe that was Hojo." Genesis murmured as he glanced at Sephiroth. Valeria winced faintly but wasn't too surprised. The ship glided to a halt not far from the gas giant and Sephiroth whistled slowly.

"What is it?" The real Genesis asked, frowning as he looked out the monitors. Other than the planet he could see nothing at all, only black space and stars. Axel and Roxas were confused as well. Axel had been given no access to the ships AI so he was just as blind as his friends.

"I would show you but it would sear out your retinas." Sephiroth laced his hands together as the vampire ship began a cautious dance. "It's the wormhole. I wasn't expecting it to still be here." That was a very good indication that the wormhole was stable. An unstable wormhole would randomly change its terminus and rarely come back to the same point. As the ship began plotting out the wormhole Sephiroth and Genesis fell silent to have a quiet conference with the AI systems. Valeria was excluded from their chat but was aware of it and set about distracting everyone by making the AI create a colored, three dimensional representation of the wormhole as it mapped it. Even Genesis was fascinated by the bizarrely shaped object inhabiting the seemingly empty space in front of them.

_Seph, is this wise?_ Genesis glanced at his double. _This timeline is set behind ours. If I'm not there when you start to… you know what will happen._ Genesis couldn't keep the anxiety out of his mental voice. There was a long, painful silence from Sephiroth.

_Yes. But we have no guarantees that things will go that way if we leave him here. I managed to look through the records Hojo left and there was no mention of an intern named Rune. And there should have been. He was Hojo's assistant at this point in time. _Genesis reluctantly considered that. In their timeline Intern Rune had been a bumbling, good natured assistant with the amazing ability to keep his mouth completely shut. Hojo had been willing to tolerate a lot for that last characteristic. He'd never become a Doctor or Professor, but by the time humanity had gone to the stars he'd been known as one of the greatest practical inventors of their time. His work had been vital to unlocking the secrets of the nanites. But more importantly to Genesis and Sephiroth, he'd been the first person to truly understand the dark energy and with Genesis' willing sacrifice he'd engineered Sephiroth's stability.

If Rune didn't exist in this dimension that wasn't going to happen. Hojo was brilliant with DNA and mako but dark energy had little to do with either although it could affect both. And Hojo was dead now in any case. Sephiroth didn't regret that for a second but he knew he'd thrown a major wrench in this dimensions future. He really had no idea what would happen.

_Besides, I would have gladly given up my life for you._ Sephiroth said softly and Genesis lifted his head to look at him, surprised. _Be selfish just this once Gen. You can't always be the hero._

_You're the hero and I was selfish many times. _Genesis pointed out with gentle humor. Sephiroth smiled and shook his head.

_My heroics would have come to nothing without yours._ He pointed out and for a moment they shared deep warmth, a mental connection and mutual regard that had only grown stronger over the centuries. It was impossible for either of them to imagine a life without the other. Finally Genesis disengaged slightly and turned to look at the others.

"We're plotting a course through the wormhole as soon as we're done the surveying. Please, having two Genesis here will be a little odd. Call me Gen." It was Sephiroth's pet name for him anyway. Valeria grinned and jumped up, slipping behind Sephiroth and putting a hand on the top of his helmet. He tried to shake her off irritably.

"Neato! So can I call you Sephy? Pleeease?" Sephiroth growled and batted at her but she evaded him easily with a laugh.

"No. And if you mention it again I'll cut your hair off." Valeria gripped her cellulose locks in mock horror as Sephiroth sighed. "I hate you all. More than words can express." Genesis blinked at Sephiroth's resigned, aggravated tone and Gen laughed as Valeria grinned.

"You thought it beat being a civilian. Serves you right. So what planet will we be heading for?" Valeria called up a starchart from the AI. "I figured we'd head for T-55908 then singularity out to… what?" Sephiroth was giving her a disgusted look and Gen was smiling.

"Sometimes, Valeria, you just don't think." Valeria bridled but Sephiroth continued impatiently. "Have you forgotten that wormholes can affect the passage of time? And that our singularity drives are in fact partly a time warp? That's how they get us from one place to another instantly save for the time spent calibrating after a jump?" Valeria looked a little stumped and Sephiroth sighed. "We are aiming to return at the same time we left. And if you think about it you'll realize we must have been successful. Otherwise they would have come after us. You might be nearly worthless but I am not." Gen laughed as Valeria stuck out her tongue at Sephiroth.

"Ass!" She pondered it for a moment. "You're right though. Unless they found a ruined ship and a bunch of dead bodies, so we better get this right." Sephiroth nodded as Gen concentrated on the calculations. The boys and Genesis exchanged a look. That didn't sound good.

"How likely is that?" Roxas asked hesitantly and Gen gave him a reassuring smile.

"Not likely at all. Wormholes are fairly common and we survived this one once, so it's not impassible. Also the stronger the are the more stable they tend to be." Gen paused a moment then shrugged. "Also a disaster would likely compact us to such a degree that they wouldn't be able to find our remains and would send a search team anyway."

"Why how cheerful! So what you're saying is the mother ship will be there and we'll be able to take a swift little jaunt to Mighty Aphrodite. I like it." Might Aphrodite was a space station. They would be able to make swift passage to wherever they wanted. Sephiroth grunted and Valeria tilted her head to one side quizzically. "What's wrong with you? I mean, besides seeing Hojo and killing him." Sephiroth seemed even more doom and gloom than usual to her.

"Just thinking." He said briskly and Valeria shrugged. Genesis immediately dismissed it in favor of the starchart. Sephiroth could be very brooding. But Gen shot his lover a curious look before reaching out to him through the AI network.

_About what?_ He wondered and felt Sephiroth thinking about what to say. Gen waited patiently for the other to sort through his thoughts. Trying to hurry Sephiroth only irritated him.

_I think perhaps we take some time off to spend with the kids. _Sephiroth said slowly and Gen twitched in surprise. Fortunately the computer didn't really need his help at this stage of the mapping because he was giving it only a small fraction of his attention. _They live on the same planet as Valeria's family. _Genesis wasn't sure how Sephiroth knew that but wasn't surprised he did. The silver haired man had a knack for remembering details about his unit. It was part of what made him such an effective commander, even with the vampire pilots.

_Really?!? _Gen sounded shocked and pleased and Sephiroth had to smile. He'd known Genesis had wanted to do that for over a year but he'd been putting it off. _That's a great idea! They might be more comfortable staying with us than Valeria's clan too. T'assa are not humans._ That was obvious but some people tended to forget that they were _aliens. _And the boys and Genesis hadn't grown up living around them and wouldn't be prepared for such close contact. Sephiroth nodded.

_Exactly my thought._ Valeria wasn't thinking of it which wasn't surprising. She tended to blithely assume things would go her way. Typical T'assa. _We can talk to them about it later. _He'd have to see about getting the time off approved first. Although that shouldn't be difficult. They were actually long overdue a leave of absence and they did have a family, sort of. That part didn't really thrill Sephiroth but he'd endure it for Gen.

The AI gently got their attention and Genesis began the intricate work of laying a plot through the tremendous mathematical loop that was a wormhole. Sephiroth half-closed his eyes as he sifted through the calculations, trying to spot any mistakes Gen might be making. There were none. Between Genesis and his AI as well as the ship's AI, he hadn't expected to find any. But there was no such thing as too careful with something like this.

"Everyone sit back in your chairs." Sephiroth ordered and Valeria obeyed with alacrity. She knew what that meant. "Beginning the trip… now." The monitors all flipped to pure black and the passengers were all very disappointed – until they felt a wrenching sensation.

It was indescribable. There was no sensation of movement yet they could _feel_ the transition. Colors seemed to flash and sparkle and Axel whimpered as Roxas dry heaved. Genesis had to close his eyes, gritting his teeth tightly. Valeria already had hers closed and was taking a bonelessly relaxed pose with the ease of long practice. If you didn't fight it, it was much better. Gen and Seph were doing the same. Everything was in the hands of the ship now. If there was a mistake they wouldn't even know it before they died.

There was no mistake and finally the stomach churning part of the trip eased. Abruptly the screens flipped on and Axel gasped and pointed as Valeria let out a cheer.

"It's the dreadnought! Ohhh baby!" Vampire ships were flitting around in disorganized patterns around a monstrous behemoth of a ship. The dark metal of the vampires was apparent against the silvery bulk of the mother ship. Vampires were often meant to blend into the darkness of space but there was no point in even trying to hide a dreadnought. "It's called Fat Tuesday. Isn't that an awesome name for a dreadnought?" Valeria said happily and the others looked confused.

"No?" As far as Axel could see that was a really stupid name. Valeria laughed uproariously but didn't explain and there was suddenly a voice coming through over the comm. Sephiroth could have had it routed to just him and Gen but saw no reason to.

_Banora White, is that you? Where in hell have you been and where is V-0096?_ The captain of the dreadnought sounded irritable and Sephiroth's eyes narrowed dangerously. He was about to reply when Valeria placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Let me do it." She said brightly. Sephiroth would be polite because he was _always _polite to his superiors and the captain was technically in charge of him, although their ranks were basically equal. Valeria, on the other hand, was a vampire pilot and a T'assa. Gen laughed and Sephiroth frowned before nodding. "Captain Zaal, are you really snacking us out because we went through a wormhole, spent a thousand years in an alternate universe and actually _came back alive?_ With our only loss being one ship? I mean, are you really doing that? Because if you are I'm going to take an oath to the Green Goddess and go to live on Elysium as a celibate." There was a brief silence before the captain came back, sounding a little flustered.

_I'm sorry. I didn't realize – hey, stop that!_ Sephiroth growled as he saw what the captain had seen. The vampires were expressing their approval of Valeria's little speech by dancing around the ship in a reckless little pattern. He quickly gave them a sharp command and they all took off like a flock of sparrows. Sephiroth sighed to himself as he watched them go. Vampire pilots came in all types, of course, but a large number of them were T'assa and even the human ones tended to be irreverent daredevils. _Ah. Please come dock for inspection and repairs V-0001._

"Yes sir." Sephiroth replied tonelessly before cutting communications and noticed Genesis frowning at him. "What?"

"You call him sir?" Genesis was feeling a bit confused now. He'd assumed Sephiroth and Gen were very high up in the power structure here. But now it didn't seem like that was the case. What exactly were they? Sephiroth pursed his lips for a moment.

"We have equal rank but as the captain of the mothership Captain Zaal is technically my superior. It's uncomfortable due to my past rank but he's fairly good at ignoring that." It sometimes made Zaal a bit more officious than he needed to be but Sephiroth was willing to forgive him that. "I used to be a Fleet Admiral, far above him. But there's a mandatory retirement period and I was reaching it. So I took this position rather than leave the military entirely." Sephiroth had no interest in being a civilian.

"We're both very good at it." Gen said softly. "And no one wants to be a commander of vampire units. It's a thankless job. When we've finished the mandatory period maybe we'll look for a transfer elsewhere." Gen wasn't sure they would though. Sephiroth groused about the vampires but was secretly very fond of the dangerous, fragile little ships. They had very little armor compared to a real capital ship so they required amazing skill and daring. Their pilots were the best and Sephiroth loved their sheer competence. Genesis frowned but nodded. It seemed very odd to him that the military here would allow the demotion of an amazing commander like Sephiroth. But on the other hand, Valeria had said that the AI's effectively made them immortal. They would have to artificially age people out or there would be a terrible glass ceiling effect. Accidents and deaths in combat would account for some openings but not enough, especially in times of peace.

The interior of the mothership was surprisingly beautiful. The docking bay was quite utilitarian, but the rest of the ship had wide open corridors and plenty of holographic decorations, including the illusion of trees and flowers. They looked real but when Roxas tried to touch one his hand passed through. There were more aquariums set in the walls and those were real. The crew of the ship was going about many arcane tasks and the boys and Genesis didn't even try to understand what was going on. A spaceship was just beyond their capacity at the moment.

"The medical bay here can give you basic nanite systems." Sephiroth said casually as he brought them there. He'd have to report to Captain Zaal soon, but he'd already asked him for time to deal with the visitors. "But the dark energy will have to wait until we reach a planet. That's not easy to deal with. I hope you don't mind but it would probably be best if you stayed in cryo suspension until we reached the planet. The ship has no real provisions for passengers." Dreadnoughts could be used to evacuate civilians during times of crisis but then they were always kept in cryo. Having random civilians wandering around would disrupt the routine and the navy wouldn't like it. "On the plus side, the cryo suspension will allow the nanites to keep your degeneration stable until we reach Paz Dulce." Genesis nodded. He wanted to spend more time with Sephiroth and his double… there was something fascinating about the way the two of them interacted, something he didn't understand and wanted to understand. They seemed to look at each other in such a warm way. It made him feel a strange twisting feeling in his chest. Regret was part of it. He'd been at odds with Sephiroth so many times, yet he'd also dreamed of being close to him, eating a Banora White with him. He wondered if his double had realized that dream and suspected he had.

But he wouldn't be able to ask them until they reached Paz Dulce, wherever that was. The children were peppering the medical attendants with questions that they were answering patiently but Genesis let it roll over him as Sephiroth, Gen and Valeria all got their own checkups.

He would have to see where this went.

* * *

A week later.

"So this is Paz Dulce? That's a weird name." Axel commented as he looked down at the planet. Sephiroth smiled faintly as he joined the young boy.

"It means Sweet Peace." Sephiroth didn't point out that to a connoisseur of planets, the name was rather ironic. Paz Dulce was not a hell world like Hades or Oceanus, but it was not a garden world. Just within the goldilocks zone it was on the hot side and prone to extreme weather. The equatorial bands weren't really inhabitable. The population lived in the temperate and tundra regions, which were more stable. There was also quite a bit of volcanism and Roxas gasped and pointed as the ship moved enough to bring a tremendous volcano into view. It was visible from orbit which was rather impressive for an earth like planet. "It's a brand new colony, only settled a hundred years ago." Sephiroth couldn't keep a hint of sadness from his voice and Gen touched his shoulder for a moment. He knew why that fact bothered Sephiroth but there was little they could do about it.

"You should all know something before we go to see the kids." Gen said softly. He knew Sephiroth couldn't bear to tell them but they needed to know. "The children are actually Sephiroth's genetic clones. They were created without permission." Axel and Roxas exchanged a wide-eyed glance as Genesis blinked.

"Surely that's illegal." Genesis said cautiously. If it wasn't, well. This reminded him of Dr. Hollander and Hojo. But his double was nodding.

"Very. Unfortunately there are several other star nations in existence and the Trinity practices cloning for various purposes." Gen smiled bitterly. "They managed to bribe some supposedly incorrupt people to get hold of samples. The crime didn't come to light for a very long time and when it did we could only prosecute the people in our nation who had participated, since in Trinity using unwilling samples is not a crime." Gen gently massaged Sephiroth's back as he spoke. He could feel how tense his muscles were and knew how much the subject hurt his lover. It touched his old memories of Hojo and the painful time as a lab experiment. "But we did manage to secure the children. Loz, Yazoo, Kadaj and Riku. They're good kids and they can show you around. Riku's your age." He said to Axel and Roxas. They were both a little daunted but nodded. "And we've gotten leave for a year so we'll be able to show you around Genesis." Genesis looked surprised but pleased and nodded.

Valeria's family had been rather relieved to hear of the new plans. Breezy assurances aside, they hadn't really been looking forward to that many semi-permanent human houseguests. Although they'd happily agreed to pitch in and were currently in the process of putting an addition on the house. Gen and Sephiroth had been told it was almost complete with only a few cosmetic touches to go. They'd also gotten some fascinating notes from the kids about it. Yazoo's complaint about the noise interrupting his beauty sleep had gone directly in the trash. Riku's complaint about Yazoo's vanity had joined it quickly, followed by Kadaj's complaint about Riku's love interests. Loz had been mercifully silent.

"I hope the children can control themselves." The little message fusillade had reminded Sephiroth of why he'd been dragging his heels about visiting them. The boys could be incredible brats when they put their minds to it, which was most of the time.

"They need a role-model." Gen reminded him and Sephiroth sighed. He'd gotten the clones the best therapy possible but the effects of what they'd endured were long lasting. Genesis hugged him from behind and Sephiroth smiled as he rested a hand over his lover's wrists.

"I suppose. Just stop me if I'm in danger of killing them." Gen laughed as they stood together peacefully, waiting for the ship to find a good parking orbit. They both missed Genesis looking at them and the odd look on his face. And even if they had noticed they probably couldn't have guessed what was going through his mind.

It had been a long time since they'd fought each other.


	17. Wet Spots and Hard Spots

"Ooof!" Axel gasped and yanked his shirt off his chest, trying to get some circulation going. "Now I see why you're wearing shorts and tees." He'd been astonished to see Sephiroth and Gen in such informal wear. But when they'd hit the road block of humidity he'd understood. Gen smiled as he wiped a bit of sweat off his forehead but the smile faded as he glanced at his double. Genesis was in his full garb and showing no reaction to the heat which wasn't normal. It was the partially the dark energy and partially Jenova's influence.

The colony they'd arrived at was fairly impressive, if you hadn't seen places like New Vienna. A picturesque little city set on the side of an active volcano, it was very cheerful and bright. Like most T'assa/human colonies, the architecture was a mish-mash and the colors could be eye searing. The city was also right beside the sea and there was a huge dock filled with ships of all sizes and descriptions. They'd gotten a very good look at that as the shuttle came in for a landing.

Now they were standing on the shuttle landing pad and Sephiroth was looking around with a frown. He quickly found what he was looking for.

"Kadaj!" A young man with silver hair walked over to them, smiling as the newcomers look at him curiously. His hair was much shorter than Sephiroth's but other than that the resemblance was uncanny. Not surprising, though, if he was actually a clone.

"Sephiroth!" Kadaj sounded genuinely pleased to see him and Sephiroth momentarily wondered how much the others had been driving him up the wall. They'd had their differences last time he was home. "It's good to see you again. Loz has been beside himself." Sephiroth couldn't help but smile at that.

"But not Yazoo and Riku?" He asked with good humor and Kadaj smiled thinly as he led them to the air car.

"Not Yazoo, but he wouldn't be excited if the Green Lady walked up to the door and joined us for tea. And Riku hasn't been home so it's hard to say." The air car was large and had plenty of seats. They all piled inside and it took off easily, Kadaj letting the onboard computer handle the driving.

"I hope he's going to be there when we arrive?" Gen interjected. "We had hoped he could show Axel and Roxas around." They both had full nanite systems now and needed nothing more. Kadaj nodded.

"I asked his lover of the moment to make sure he got home. Sora's reliable so he'll be there." Axel and Roxas both tuned out the conversation in the front seat to peer out the windows. Genesis struggled with himself for a bit before joining the children. The city around them was too fascinating.

In most ways it wouldn't have been out of place in their own world. Most of the houses were relatively small and spread out over the landscape, sitting in the middle of comfortable plots of land. There were also great towers though and Genesis guessed they were for those who preferred a more urban lifestyle. Strange buildings flashed by and all three of them gaped at what looked like a floating ball of faceted gold. It rippled and shone with a light that was almost painful but their new AI systems compensated for it immediately.

"What is that?" Genesis hardly realized he'd spoken until Sephiroth glanced out the window, trying to locate what he was looking at.

"Ah, that's the Lovehart Stadium. It's very advanced technology and the only one like it on the planet." Such things were very expensive. The vehicle suddenly rattled a little and Kadaj muttered a little as he looked at the readings. "What is it?"

"Nothing. Loz tried to give it a tune-up and boffed the suspensors a bit. It's just annoying." Kadaj made a few quick corrections and the ride smoothed out. It wasn't much longer before the air car settled in front of a very long, very spread out building. It was a creamy color with dark wood windows and dark blue roofs. It seemed to have been built in sections and the roofs were overlapping in a way that was rather cute. Part of it was clearly newly built although it had been painted to match the rest. Two boys were playing basketball outside the front of the house with loud laughter that would have disturbed the neighbors if there had been any close. They stopped their game as the car settled and walked over.

Axel immediately guessed that the silver haired one was Riku. He looked to be about their age although that didn't mean much here. Riku had silvery hair that fell just below his shoulders and his eyes were slightly different, aquamarine instead of green. His face was different too, more individual than Kadaj and Axel vaguely wondered how that worked. Shouldn't clones be identical? But he'd have known instantly that Riku wasn't Sephiroth. He was wearing odd, loose trousers made of a black, crinkly fabric and held up with a large belt. He wasn't wearing a shirt at all, the better to show off his bodywork and Axel found he was rather impressed. The kid had a pierced nipple and little diamonds and crystals set into his skin in a random pattern that made it look like his skin was wet. It sort of invited you to lick it. Axel blinked at the thought and blushed. That was embarrassing! The kid beside him was thankfully a lot more normal. He had chocolate brown hair in spikes, brilliant blue eyes and a ready smile. He was wearing shorts and a sleeveless tee with a picture of a flower on the front. That was a little odd but it was a very pretty picture.

"Dad!" Riku smiled and impulsively hugged Sephiroth as he stepped out of the car. "It's been a while." Sephiroth smiled and hugged the younger man back. Riku and Loz were the only ones who called him dad. Loz because he was a complete softy and Riku because he'd been young enough when rescued that it had seemed normal. "I missed you." Axel and Roxas exchanged a glance at that. Riku seemed completely sincere and Sephiroth melted a bit.

"Sorry it took so long to get back, Riku." Sephiroth was guiltily aware he should have done this a year ago. But he hadn't wanted the children in the first place. It was a bit hard to get past. Riku laughed and stepped back.

"It's okay! We all know what you're doing is important. Hey, who is THAT?" Riku had spotted the second Genesis and was openly staring. "Wow… is that outfit from New Vienna?" Genesis just looked confused, not understanding. Sephiroth shook his head.

"No. He just doesn't feel the heat much. Don't worry about it Riku." He commanded as Riku opened his mouth to ask another question. "He's Genesis, from another timeline. This is Axel and this is Roxas." Axel waved as Roxas looked at Riku curiously. The silver hair turned his attention to them. "I was hoping you and Sora could take them under your wings, show them around."

"Sure!" Sora spoke up, stepping forward with a smile. "Hi, welcome to Ciudad Olvidado. That means Forgotten City." He added cheerfully and Axel wondered why the colonists would have named the city that. It seemed a bit odd. "C'mon, everyone else is inside!" Sora tossed the ball to Riku who caught it with a laugh and the boys all ran inside, followed more sedately by the older members of the family. "This is Yazoo and that's Loz." Yazoo didn't look up from the book reader he was examining, just giving them all a vague wave and Loz darted past them to give Sephiroth a hug. Roxas found his head following the larger boy. Where Riku, Yazoo and Kadaj were all slender and wiry like Sephiroth, Loz was built more like a wrestler. His hair was cut very short and there was just something about him that made Roxas lick his lips. He was vaguely aware that Axel was staring too. Even Genesis seemed affected.

"Dad!" Riku tugged Axel and Roxas past the family reunion and Genesis followed. He was sure that Sephiroth and Gen would be caught up with the children for a while and he wanted to see the house. It turned out to be very nice and they quickly got their things settled in… such as they were. Riku was startled when he saw they only had a few basic pieces of clothing, courtesy of the navy replicators.

"Wow, that's it? You guys are going to have to come with us to the mall tomorrow." Riku commented. "You can use the wall replicators to make more basic stuff or to order something more complex, but it's better to be able to try things on." You could basically internet shop and get the patterns sent directly to your replicator for a one time use fee, but then you would be stuck with whatever you'd bought. In the mall you could try something on, return it to the replicator if you didn't like it and try again.

"I can't wait!" Axel was really looking forward to seeing a mall in this place. They seemed to use replicators to make everything. What would it be like? Roxas sighed then winced as his stomach growled audibly. Riku grinned.

"Are you guys hungry? I bet you are. Yazoo's been making paella and Loz put together some sangria for it." Catching their blank looks Riku explained. "Paella is rice and chicken with spices. Sangria is wine with fruit in it. It's traditional food."

"Traditional. What are the traditions here based on?" Genesis asked quietly as Riku showed them to the dining room. It was a very big room with a clear view of the kitchen and sliding doors to the back of the house, so you could eat outside if you wanted.

"A big part T'assa." Riku answered immediately. "A lot of the food and names come from them, like Moshi Va Park. The Terran part is mostly Spanish traditions. Uh… I think it used to be called Manderan." That final term rang a few bells. Mandera had been a small nation on their world before Shinra had taken it over, but it had maintained its culinary and linguistic roots. "It's just the food and the names though. The colonists here came from all over the galaxy so we've got a lot of variety. Everyone take a seat." The table was already set for the exact number of people there. Axel caught a glimpse of a little robot gliding away and guessed that it had taken care of it. As Riku sat Roxas noticed his back. He had a black angel wing tattooed on his left shoulder blade. It was a clear reference to Sephiroth. The robot brought out a bread basket and Roxas and Axel immediately dug in. Soon the rest of the family entered and Yazoo brought in a large earthenware pot, setting it in the middle of the table. It was clearly serve yourself and soon everyone was digging in.

"So how have things been going in my absence?" Sephiroth asked after everyone had eaten a bit. Kadaj had his mouth full and was still chewing when Yazoo answered, carefully buttering a roll.

"Oh, things have changed a little. Riku has apparently given up being a man-whore. Kadaj is still the ice prince and Loz's ability to generate wet spots continues unabated. Not to mention hard spots. Speaking of which, children, you might want to wipe the drool off your chins." Axel and Roxas both blushed at the all too accurate rendition of their reactions. They had both been looking at Loz. He was just amazingly handsome and there was something about him, a childlike appeal that made you want to take him home and feed him cookies. Loz was looking equally embarrassed at the moment, though. "He had to change his therapist."

"Oh?" Sephiroth enquired, switching his attention to Loz. He'd expected the rest of it, although Kadaj was hissing something threatening to his brother who ignored him with practiced insouciance. Loz was flushed brick red.

"It wasn't my fault! She said I'm doing a lot better but she was too emotionally involved to be objective anymore." Loz said humbly and Sephiroth sighed as Gen grinned. The children always amused him. "Kadaj is trying to find me a therapist who's straight."

"You'll turn him gay." Yazoo prophesied. "You can make all the women in a fifty foot radius stare just by sitting in the corner with your hands in your lap."

"Can you TRY not to completely humiliate us in front of the guests?" Kadaj growled at him and Yazoo shrugged.

"Don't care. They're going to be living here so they might as well get used to it." Yazoo bit into his roll, catching the crumbs with an oddly sensuous glide of his lips and tongue. Kadaj grimly concentrated on his food and Axel suddenly frowned as a thought occurred to him. Why exactly had the clones been made? He suddenly felt uneasy as he watched Yazoo eat his roll. Roxas was oblivious to his thoughts and spoke to Riku as Gen began asking the kids about their progress with their courses.

"Hey, I was wondering. That diamond thing on your chest, how did you get that? It looks really pretty." Roxas thought he might like something like that for himself. Riku smiled, touching a few of the droplets.

"Thank you. I designed it. It's body art… our nanites can take raw materials and make them part of our skin." It gave body art a tremendous range of effects. "I'm learning to be a designer. I could try to make you something if you want." If it didn't work out the nanites could easily take it off.

"Really? Wow, that would be neat – Axel!" Roxas elbowed the redhead in the side and Axel started guiltily, pulled out of his sidelong looks at Loz. "Would you like some body art?"

"Say what?" Axel was startled but then caught up to what they were talking about. "Oh sure. Sounds like fun." Sora laughed and the two of them looked at him.

"You've just volunteered to be his guinea pig." Sora said with a grin. "I already have been, want to see?" At their nods he peeled away his shirt and Axel choked as Roxas stared. What was revealed looked like intricate body paint. If they hadn't known better they would have thought Sora was wearing a shirt. It was a tight geometric pattern done in blue, green and silver and seemed to evoke waves. They'd never seen anything like it before. "I think I'm going to be getting rid of it soon. Riku has some other things I'd like to try."

"Anytime you want Sora." Riku said fondly as he nuzzled the younger boy. "I like the way you look in that, but I'd like to see you in my cloud pattern." Sora laughed and kissed him a moment. Riku returned the kiss with interest and Roxas glanced up at Axel, meeting warm green eyes. Then Axel impulsively kissed his cheek. Sora and Riku were just so in love, it was shining and made him remember how much he loved Roxas.

"I really like it here Axel." Roxas whispered then winced as Kadaj and Yazoo started fighting. "Although I think those guys are going to be a pain." He added and Axel laughed.

"Hey, not everything can be perfect. We'll survive." He glanced up in time to see Kadaj leaving the table and Yazoo smirking. Gen looked annoyed and Genesis was frowning while Sephiroth had opted to stay out of it. Trying to break up fights between Kadaj and Yazoo was pretty much hopeless anyway.

"Yeah, we'll be fine." Roxas was sure of it. He'd dealt with annoying people all his life, and he liked Loz, Riku and Sora already.

They would just have to see.

* * *

The next day.

"Genesis?" Genesis opened his eyes, seeing nothing but swirling colors for a moment. They resolved into a very concerned Sephiroth. "Are you feeling well?" He sounded anxious. When was the last time Genesis had heard Sephiroth use that tone with him? Never that he could remember. And he couldn't remember feeling this bad in his life.

"I'm… fine. What happened?" His voice sounded dull and scratchy to his ears. Gen was beside him, helping him sit up. Genesis suddenly realized he was in a hospital bed, being monitored by all kinds of equipment.

"The operation was successful. The dark energy has been removed and the Jenova cells are being purged from your body." Sephiroth said and Genesis blinked. He'd gone into the hospital and they had said it would only take a few hours to complete the purge. He'd expected to feel different but not like _this._ He gritted his teeth, holding back a whimper. Was this how normal people felt? The discomfort was nearly unbearable.

"Seph, can you go outside for a moment?" Gen said softly and Sephiroth hesitated before nodding. Genesis looked up at his double, but he waited until Seph was gone before he spoke. "Sephiroth would try to help you, but he can't really. He tried to help me but he doesn't understand what it feels like, to suddenly have everything ripped away. To go from being superhuman to completely ordinary." Genesis swallowed and Gen reached over, picking up a water bottle and giving it to him. Genesis sucked on it gratefully. That made him feel a little better but not a lot.

"How can people live like this?" He felt so fragile, so weak. Gen shook his head.

"They've never felt anything else. It's only hitting you like this because you've never really been human before." Genesis swallowed as he felt the truth in that. So this was what it was like to be human. He blinked as he felt Gen stroking his hair, cuddling him to his chest like a child. It felt strange to be held. He hadn't been held in years. Not by someone who actually cared.

"Gen?" His copy paused and Genesis tried to think of what to say. His mind seemed to be getting foggier, not clearer. "You and Sephiroth. I don't…" Gen waited patiently for him to continue but Genesis couldn't think of how to explain his desire to be part of their lives. To have what his double had. That was wrong though, wasn't it? Gen chuckled softly and Genesis thought, strangely, that he understood.

"I'll talk to Sephiroth about it. You're just like I was, so long ago… so strong yet so fragile." If he'd felt better Genesis would have bristled at that. Fragile? But the way his other self was holding him was just too comforting. "It makes me worry about Sephiroth. How will he survive without you?" Gen shook his head before murmuring to himself. "Seph's right though. We can only save what we can. Do you think you're strong enough to take a shower?" He changed the subject and Genesis nodded hesitantly.

"If – if you help me." He hated to feel so weak but he wasn't sure he could walk properly at the moment. Gen nodded and helped him up, taking his weight easily as he helped Genesis to the shower. The water was very refreshing and by the time he was done his mind was feeling much clearer. Genesis frowned, though, as he saw the clothing Gen had found for him. It was khaki shorts and a dark red tee. Gen caught his look and smiled sadly.

"If you wore your old clothing you would suffocate. You'll feel the heat now Genesis." Genesis blinked at that but put on the new clothing. They found Sephiroth sitting in the lounge and casually scanning the galactic newsfeeds. It was the work of a moment to pull him out of the VR clouds and Genesis was abruptly glad of his new clothing as they stepped out of the lobby and into the fresh air. The humidity hit him like a wet blanket and Genesis felt sweat popping out on his forehead. He'd hardly ever sweated before, not like this. The strain of moving in the heavy air was almost painful and Genesis felt a warm arm around him. Sephiroth this time.

"You can lean on me." Sephiroth's voice was warm and Genesis was acutely aware of the other man's hot breath against his cheek. Until he'd met his double and the new Sephiroth it hadn't occurred to him how sexy the silver haired man was. For a moment he wondered how it had occurred to Gen but then shoved the thought aside, accepting Sephiroth's help without complaint. "You'll feel better soon. The nanites are still working on cleaning out the last of the Jenova cells."

"Ah." That might explain why he felt so sick and weak. Surely normal people couldn't feel like this all the time. "I see. Thank you."

"It's nothing." Soon they were heading for home and Genesis smiled to himself as he heard Sephiroth curse the air car for a moment and smack it as it started to rumble. It immediately went back to running smoothly as if it had understood. He relaxed into the seat cushions, allowing himself to doze off.

He needed the rest.


	18. The Mall

"This place is amazing!" Axel was looking over the mall with complete approval.

From the outside, the mall had been a large building made largely out of glass. Now that they were inside that glass along with all the plants inside was giving an impression of openness. It was very pleasant. Roxas scuffed the floor with one foot, fascinated by the colorful patterns on the tiles. They formed tight mosaic patterns that should have been time intensive but he suspected they hadn't been. The replicators allowed for some amazing things.

The stores were a case in point. There was only a bit of merchandise on display, to let the buyer know what they sold. When inside you could access a virtual catalogue that created a three dimensional hologram of the item you were thinking of buying. It even simulated texture so you could touch the item for a brief moment. If all of that was acceptable the store would replicate it for you and then you could decide if you wanted it or not. If you did and it was a smaller item you could take it with you. If it was something larger or you just didn't want to strain your arms, the pattern would be sent to your home terminal and when you used it you would be charged the use fee. Some of the stores had no humans manning them at all, just the terminals. Others, like the clothing stores had staff that were cheerfully willing to help.

The clothing stores were even more remarkable. They used scans to get perfect measurements then used VR and holograms to let you try things on. Axel had a load of fun with that, even if he sometimes went into the realm of the utterly impractical.

"You'd die in a minute if you wore that outside. And we can't afford thermofabrics." Riku observed as Axel tried on a black outfit. It was a smooth fabric that looked like leather but felt wonderful on the skin. Axel laughed as Roxas stepped out, smiling. He was wearing a tee that had a shifting picture of a smiley face on the front. It was constantly changing from one smiley to another.

"I want one of those!" Axel flicked to the catalogue with the changing clothing. He didn't understand the science behind it but there was plenty of clothing with really weird special effects. "Oh nice!" He found a tee with a seaside landscape that had the waves slowly lapping the beach. "All it needs is sound effects and it would be perfect."

"Nah. That would be way annoying. They've tried it and there were too many complaints. Hey Sora, what do you think of this?" Sora's sound of approval caught Axel's and Roxas' immediate attention. Riku's outfit easily sealed the deal.

"Holy crap!" Riku's outfit was more than brief enough to be suitable for the out of doors. It was also light peach and cut in a way that defied gravity while revealing huge amounts of skin. Axel thought the silver hair couldn't be revealing more if he were naked. In fact, this outfit was far more titillating than mere nakedness. "Roxas, I want to see you in that – ow!" Axel laughed and as Roxas glowered at him. Then the blonde suddenly grinned.

"I want to see YOU in it." Axel blinked, alarmed, as he looked at Riku. He didn't have the same sweet little boy aura as Loz, but he was almost physical perfection. Axel didn't think he had the body to measure up to that. But Sora was grabbing his wrist, grinning and dragging him over to the replicator.

"Hey, I don't really – erk!" With Sora and Roxas 'persuading' him, Axel ended up putting on a matching outfit with several protests. Then they stood back and looked at him consideringly as Axel blushed brightly. This was embarrassing!

"Axel, you look wonderful." Axel blinked at Roxas before looking down at himself. He did? "Perfect in fact." Roxas was suddenly there and kissing him. That made Axel feel a lot better about the outfit. "You should get that."

"What? No way! Not unless you get one." Axel immediately replied and Sora squealed as Riku watched them all with a grin.

"You totally should! We all should! Come on!" Sora grabbed a protesting Roxas and Axel laughed and helped. Soon they were all in identical outfits and Axel privately thought it was kindest to Riku, with his height and beautiful build. But Sora did well too, and the cut outs revealed the tats underneath so he didn't really look unclothed at all. Roxas was blushing though and Axel slid his arms around him, kissing him lovingly on the cheek. Roxas nestled against him for a moment.

"Do I look okay in this?" Roxas sounded worried as he glanced at the mirrors. Axel looked with him and was relieved to see they both looked pretty good. Tasty in fact. Axel grinned and nuzzled his cheek.

"I want to pull you into the bathroom and do something wicked to you." Axel whispered into Roxas ear and was pleased to feel the blonde shiver in desire. Hot arms slipped around him and Axel kissed Roxas deeply, pressing him against the wall. Riku and Sora were watching but he didn't care. It was actually kind of hot.

"I'd love that. But not right now." Roxas whispered, tugging on him and Axel reluctantly pulled away. Riku spoke up as Roxas straitened his clothes.

"Why don't we just get rid of your old clothes? That stuff was just basic patterns." It could be remade for free from any replicator. Roxas nodded and they shoved the clothes into the disposal. "Now, shoes!" That meant going to a shoe store and Axel grinned at the colorful shoes on display. Their new clothing attracted a few admiringly looks from the ladies but there was no shock. Some of the outfits Axel could see made theirs look tame. Riku caught where he was looking and smiled. "We have some colonists from Hades, and the climate is so hot here that we decided to do things their way."

"Not entirely Riku. They don't wear anything on Hades but loincloths. And sometimes not that." Sora disagreed slightly and Riku shrugged.

"Close enough. You wouldn't catch most of the people from civilized worlds wearing this stuff." Axel hardly paid attention to them as he started trying on shoes. The computers obediently replicated them and he gasped in pure pleasure at the perfect fit. He'd never had shoes this good in his life. It felt like he was walking on clouds. Roxas was just as impressed. Axel grinned as he found the appearance of the shoes could be customized in all kinds of ways when you found a basic model you liked.

"Axel, what are you – unholy HELL! Axel, you can't buy that!" Roxas exclamation attracted everyone's attention and Riku grinned as Sora squeaked in dismay.

"You have quite an imagination. Maybe you should be a body work designer too?" Axel had managed to get into the decorating menu and with his AI's supportive help and his own natural artistic abilites, he'd created a shoe that was interesting. They were a rich royal purple now with golden star cutouts. It had ornamental lacing in crinkly silver with little red beads worked in. The ends were capped with bright pink heart beads. Just to add a bit more wacky insanity, the sole was bright green and there was a line of red beads making a little fringe around the top of the shoe. "That's really obscenely garish."

"I know. I love it." Axel put them on and sighed at the heavenly feeling. "These things are amazing." Riku was poking dubiously at his old shoes, then shook his head and put them in the disposal. Axel didn't mind. He was in heaven. Roxas was looking disgusted though.

"Oh fine… but make a normal black pair or something for when you're not trying to kill everyone in the neighborhood by searing out their eyes." Roxas grumped and got a simple pair of white shoes for himself as Axel laughed and got a pair of black as well. He had the pattern sent to their home rather than taking them with him.

They played in an arcade for a while, enjoying the futures version of games. According to Riku and Sora they were all extremely old but Axel and Roxas still got a kick out of something called Angels. It involved using machine telepathy and the AI to take control of a little mechanical doll and using them to battle with other dolls. Axel and Roxas weren't any good at it at first but they gradually got better. Roxas had his doll, a little girl in pink armor, do a victory dance as she defeated Axel's Angel.

"So are you guys hungry? Because I'm starving." Riku said and Axel blinked as his stomach rumbled. "Thought so. Come on, the food court actually has some good stuff." The food court turned out to be dozens of tables, each of which had a replicator in the centre and holographic menus you could flick on. Axel examined the pictures, tempted to try something really weird like some of the T'assa dishes available. He finally opted for Ta'Vael casserole while Roxas got some rotisserie chicken. Riku and Sora both got plates of finger food and proceeded to feed each other, laughing and occasionally lip locking.

"Dang. I wish I'd thought of that." Axel looked mournfully at the casserole. It was really good, full of something that tasted like chicken as well as delicious alien 'vegetables'. They had an odd texture, somewhere between meat and vegetables but he found that he liked it. It was in a rich creamy sauce and he didn't regret ordering it, but he couldn't use it to play with Roxas. Roxas laughed and bit into his chicken.

"I'd rather just eat anyway, as sexy as you are in your flesh toned clothes and horrific shoes." Roxas tried the bacon hash browns and broccoli that had come with his order and blinked. "This stuff is really good. But it tastes a bit… odd." There was a slightly artificial flavor, a vague tang. Axel licked his lips, tasting it. The meals they had at Sephiroth's didn't have that and he wondered why.

"That's because it's replicated. There's always a bit of that when you replicate an entire meal." Riku said helpfully. "If you replicate the ingredients then cook it yourself the taste is less. And it's not there at all if you use real ingredients. That's a lot cheaper here than a lot of places." He shrugged as Sora nodded. "One of the benefits to living on a colony is that there's plenty of farmers."

"Hmm." Axel glanced around at the mall thoughtfully. It was clearly futuristic but when he thought about it, it wasn't AS futuristic as he'd expected. It could have fit into Midgar if there had been some kind of miraculous glass breakthrough. And a hologram breakthrough. It was nothing like Valeria had shown him in his dreams. "I, uh, don't mean to be offensive. But why is this place so different from that place Valeria showed me? I think she called it New Vienna." Axel added at their frowns. Riku immediately grimaced and Sora smiled sadly.

"Because this isn't New Vienna." Axel and Roxas just looked at him and Riku sighed. "Look, this is a colony. New Vienna is the centre of galactic civilization. Compared to them we're at the ass end of nowhere. There's a reason why we named this place the Forgotten City."

"That doesn't really explain why it's so different." Axel pointed out. "I mean, you have these replicators. Why don't you have more of the shiny stuff?" Things like the stadium they'd spotted on the way in. Axel had seen a lot of tremendously interesting things in Valeria's dreams of New Vienna and this place was lacking them. Riku frowned and Sora shook his head.

"It's not that simple… are you sure you want to know? It's kind of boring." Sora said and Axel hesitated a moment before nodding. Kind of boring or not, he wanted to understand more about this world. "It had to do with economics." Axel bit back a groan. That _was_ kind of boring. "You see, when replicators were first invented we needed to come up with some kind system so inventors could still be compensated. So we came up with an intricate patent system." Sora gestured around him. "Everything you see here is out of patent. We had to pay a little for some of it but most of it was free. We couldn't afford anything else."

"The exchange rate is terrible." Riku cut in as Sora took a drink of his Zerg. "We're a colony, the population is low, there's no real businesses except agriculture. Luxury food and some fine wines are the only things we export. Not to mention this place is the ass end of nowhere. There's a reason why we named it the Forgotten City."

"Yes." Sora said sadly. "We're all really very poor here." Axel choked on that.

"Poor?!?" To him this place was the height of luxury. He'd lived near the slums of Midgar and had visited them regularly. That was a place people had to worry about starving to death or freezing on a bad winter and Sora was calling this poor? Sora looked confused but Riku gave him a thin smile.

"Not compared to what you've seen, I'm sure. Not even compared to some of the things I and my brothers saw on Trinity. But compared to New Vienna, we _are_ poor Axel. Poor and inconsequential." Axel was briefly silenced by the bitter edge to Riku's voice. Roxas met Sora's gaze and saw the brunette shake his head slightly. There was some kind of wound there. "Anyway." Riku said with what struck them as forced cheeriness. "We might be a bunch of dirt poor peasants but we do have some really neat stuff! Would you like to go on a boat ride sometime?"

"Hell ya!" "No." Axel and Roxas spoke simultaneously and Axel blinked at the blonde, confused.

"No? Why not?" He thought a boat ride sounded awesome. Roxas looked disgusted.

"I get seasick Axel." Roxas had been dragged onto a boat once and never wanted to go back. Sora laughed and Riku smiled at that.

"Oh Roxas! The AI system won't allow you to get motion sick unless the stimulation is overwhelming. It would take a lot more than a boat!" Sora said cheerfully and Roxas blinked.

"Oh. Really? In that case I guess." He was still a bit uneasy about it but if they were sure he wouldn't be puking the whole time it could even be interesting. Riku nodded, pleased.

"You'll like it. We could even take a three day cruise if we wanted, enjoy some of the crazy beaches." Riku finished off his food, shoving the tray into the disposal for disintegration.

"Maybe you could have a tourist industry someday." Roxas suggested but the other two boys shook their heads.

"Not a chance. Jub-Jub is about a zillion times better for water stuff and it actually has real cities. No one wants to come to a world that's prone to super violent storms." Riku gave him a lopsided smile. "You'll see come storm season. Last year we had to evacuate to the stadium twice." Axel blinked and Roxas frowned, wondering how bad a storm would have to be for that. The stadium looked fragile but they'd said it was ultra high tech, so it might be anything but.

They finished exploring the mall and finally went home. When they got home they found Genesis hard at work with a VR lesson. Soon Axel and Roxas found themselves working on similar lessons, although at a lower skill level than Genesis. They were kept separated from each other, nothing but themselves and a teaching AI. Axel quickly found out that was the normal way this universe did things. Important lessons were given with one on one instruction by finely tuned AI's while social studies were done by group VR simulations. When the time came for that Axel was surprised to see Genesis in the simulation with him but quickly figured out why as they were run through various social situations. Genesis was just as new here as they were and had just as much to learn. Some of it was very obvious but some of it was incredibly useful. They had a great time puzzling out how to summon public transport on New Vienna.

"Oh god it's so PINK!" Axel said, repulsed, as they finally managed to get the attention of a transport tube. The bright pink tube flowed over the platform they were standing on and lifted them easily. It was like being cocooned in cotton candy. Roxas gagged and Genesis laughed. Axel noticed that the auburn haired man was looking much better than he had the previous day. The nanites worked fast.

"As long as it gets us where we're going." It did, and they had to repeat the process twice more before the VR simulation changed to a different mode of public transit. Apparently a lot of worlds used different ones and social studies was all about being able to master the basics of survival on many worlds. Finally the VR simulation told them they'd been at it long enough and shut down. Axel was surprised to realize that the intense classes had only taken about four hours. Yet, he'd felt like he'd learned a lot. Was the AI helping him store the information? Probably.

If they kept learning at this rate Axel didn't think it would take too long for them to fit in. He hoped it wouldn't. No matter what Sora said, he couldn't think of this place as poor.

This was great and he didn't want it to end.


End file.
